The costs that we pay for the electricity we deliver to you and the infrastructure in our distribution system have seen substantial increases over the past few years. Our overall operating expenses have increased by 35% since 2020. In addition, the cost of our frequently purchased, necessary supplies and equipment increased by an average of 94% in the years leading up to our cost-of-service-study.

In 2023, we initiated our cost-of-service study with expert third-party consultants to address these cost changes and assess the financial health of our cooperative. While working with consultants, our trustees, and the financial experts on our team, it became clear that we would need to increase our electric rate – either all at once, or gradually over time. 

As a not-for-profit cooperative, we are committed to operating in the best interests of our members. After our cost-of-service study, we sent out a rate adjustment survey to all our members to get feedback on how we could best implement the necessary changes.

We used your feedback on the survey to create our rate adjustment plan with our board of trustees. Over 82 percent of responding members expressed a preference for smaller, more frequent rate adjustments rather than delaying and implementing larger increases later. We created a plan to implement small, approximately 2% changes from year to year to help get our rates to a sustainable level while creating a smoother transition for our members.

No. Because we are a not-for-profit cooperative, we return all our margins to our members through Capital Credits. This increase is designed only to cover the rising costs that we have to pay to continue providing you with safe, reliable electricity.

Our “Service Availability Charge” is the monthly fee that all Consolidated members pay to have access to our electric service. It is the same each month and it does not change based on consumption. This charge is necessary for us to provide electric service to you, and it plays an important role in keeping rates steadier overall. – The revenue from this charge helps cover fixed costs, including maintaining the system, updating equipment, and managing vegetation. All of this supports reliability and helps prevent costly outages and repairs.

Our reliability remains strong, and we have consistently stayed below state and national SAIDI medians over the past ten years. SAIDI (System Average Interruption Duration Index) represents the total number of minutes of service interruption the average member or customer experiences from their utility provider.

The G&T Charge is a pass-through charge that covers the costs of producing and transmitting the electricity that we distribute to you. It changes from month to month depending on the costs for things like fuel and transmission equipment. Generally, this cost has been on the rise in recent years due to increased fuel costs and demand, supply chain issues, and increasingly challenging government policies that make generation more expensive.

Population density makes a big impact on an electric provider’s rates and monthly charges. Larger, investor-owned utilities that cover mostly urban and suburban areas serve more members per mile of line than cooperatives like us who cover a lot of rural territory. When each mile of line in a distribution system serves more people, each person can pay a smaller portion of the maintenance, upgrade, and repair costs.

As a cooperative, we are proud of the role we play in helping our members thrive in rural areas by providing high quality services that might otherwise only be available in cities. Cooperatives like us were founded to serve rural areas when investor-owned utilities were not willing to take on the additional costs. While some costs are unavoidable because of the locations we serve, our rates remain comparable because we are a not-for-profit and do not pad our rates to line the pockets of investors. Our rates and charges reflect the costs we pay to provide you with safe, reliable electricity, and we return any excess to our members through capital credits.

While we have a skilled financial team and trustees who are always looking to maximize the value we provide to members, we brought in third-party experts to ensure objectivity and help our leadership determine the best path forward. Our consultants follow standards set by the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC) while they carefully evaluate everything from equipment costs to community growth.

The focus of this study was to ensure fairness to our members while taking steps to maintain Consolidated’s good financial health. We worked with our consultants to identify the necessary and appropriate changes to our rate structure, and we are moving forward with our trustees’ full approval.

While costs are rising for goods and services of all kinds, the energy world has become an increasingly challenging place. As supply chain issues and overreaching regulations have costs up, we are joining forces with cooperatives from across the nation to advocate for energy policies that support reliable, affordable energy.

Learn more about these issues and how you can speak up for your community here.

As a not-for-profit cooperative, we offer many programs and resources designed to help our members become more efficient and save money. Check out some of our programs below, and please get in touch with us if you have questions:

• High-Use Emails – Our high-use system alerts members when they have a higher energy bill than usual. Each email contains a custom video designed to help you understand why your energy use may have changed and find ways to use less in the future. Make sure the email address on your account is up to date so we can send you this helpful information.
• Energy use tracking through Consolidated SmartHub – Set goals and track your energy use from month to month to make your home more efficient!
• Home Energy Audits – Contact us to book an appointment for an in-person audit of your home’s energy efficiency with an expert from our team.
• Energy Resource Center – Our free, online Energy Resource Center offers calculators and educational materials designed to help you become more efficient. You can get custom tips for your home and compare the costs and energy use of different heating options, appliances, lighting, and more.
• Rebate Program – We offer rebates on multiple energy-efficient home upgrades to help you save while making your home more energy efficient.
• Budget Billing – Budget Billing helps even out your electric costs throughout the year so that you are budgeting for a similar amount each month, even when the weather and your energy use change.
• InControl Prepay – Stay InControl of your electric use by paying for electricity as you use it, instead of paying a lump sum each month.

Our trustees and teams are always looking for ways to improve our cooperative’s efficiency and effectiveness.

• We have a robust vegetation management program that helps us reduce costly outages and system damage.
• We invest in technology like our Advanced Metering Infrastructure that increases efficiency and improves the longevity of our system.
• We ensure that all our teams are well-trained to work safely and efficiently.
• We are committed to supporting community growth by creating relationships with prospective businesses and developers, creating franchise agreements, and working closely with our local community leaders. When our community grows, the costs to provide power can be shared among more people and businesses, making it less expensive for everyone.
• We advocate for energy policy that supports reliable, affordable electricity. We join forces with co-ops on the state and national levels to speak up, and we encourage our members to join us through programs like America’s Electric Cooperatives PAC or Voices for Cooperative Power here.
• We are saving printing costs and trees by making more of our processes digital. For instance, our recent efforts to help more members switch to Paperless Billing will help Consolidated save over $27,000 a year on printing and mailing.