Manager's Message

At Central Electric, we understand how essential reliable electricity is to our members, and we are committed to ensuring your power remains both dependable and affordable. Providing reliable service, restoring power quickly when outages occur, and controlling costs for our members remain our top priorities. However, external factors continue to impact affordability. Over the past decade, shifting market dynamics and energy policies have required utilities to reduce carbon emissions, primarily through the retirement of coal plants and an increase in renewable energy sources.

One of the biggest challenges we face is the transition away from traditional, cost-effective power generation sources at a pace that outstrips the availability of reliable replacements. While solar and renewable energy play an important role in our energy mix, they are inherently weather-dependent. That’s why we’re working with our network of cooperatives in North Carolina to explore solutions like battery storage to enhance grid reliability. However, widespread adoption of battery storage remains cost-prohibitive at current prices. Balancing reliability, affordability, and sustainability is achievable, but we will continue to advocate for responsible energy policies at both the state and federal levels to protect the interests of our members.

In addition to the increasing costs of power generation and transmission, we’re also seeing significant price hikes for the materials needed to maintain our grid. Essential components such as transformers, wire, and crossarms have doubled in price, leading to financial pressures on electric cooperatives nationwide.

As a result, Central Electric must implement a rate adjustment to sustain reliable service. Effective April 1, all members will see a 7% increase in the kWh energy charge. The basic facility charge will also increase by $3.00, changing from $31.00 to $34.00 per month. For a residential member using 1,400 kWh in a given month, this will result in a net increase of $15.10 per month.

These adjustments reflect the rising costs of wholesale power and the expenses incurred in maintaining and strengthening our electric system. While we never want to bring news of rate increases, these changes are necessary to ensure the long-term financial stability of our cooperative. The current energy landscape presents challenges beyond our control, but we remain dedicated to managing costs as effectively as possible on behalf of our members.

As a not-for-profit cooperative, every dollar we collect goes directly into providing and improving the service you rely on. Even with these adjustments, we are dedicated to delivering safe, reliable, and affordable electricity to our members.

We understand that rate increases can be a concern, and we encourage you to reach out with any questions. Thank you for your trust in Central Electric. We appreciate the opportunity to serve you and remain committed to navigating these challenges together.

Until next time,