No Rate Increase In 2012 Budget
By Dan L. Brown, General Manager/CEO
Although your Cooperative's wholesale power costs did increase on January 1, we received some very good news just prior to year's end. Our power supplier, Central Electric Power Cooperative (CEPC), did not increase our rates as much as they had earlier projected, due to lower cost projections from Associated Electric Cooperative (AECI), our cooperative-owned power generator.
We will work to absorb the $1.5 million cost increase that is coming our way as we continue to make day-to-day improvements in our efficiencies throughout the year.
This allows your Board of Directors to announce, for the third year in a row, you will not experience a rate increase.
We are extremely pleased to be able to make this announcement, especially in the difficult times we know many of you are experiencing.
At an average residential energy rate of 8¢ per kilowatt-hour (kWh), we continue to offer you some of the lowest electric rates not only in Missouri, but throughout the entire country (see chart). We must give credit to CEPC and AECI for their roles in affording us these rates, because our wholesale power costs represent 70% of our entire budget. But we must also give credit to our employees, who continue to strive for maximum efficiencies in everything they do in the day-to-day operations of your cooperative.
Thank you for giving us the opportunity to be of service to you, and I'd like to wish each of you a very happy new year!