Our members, like nearly all sectors of society, are facing a higher expenses in every area of life – at the grocery story, in the housing market, in the vehicle market, and yes, in utilities.
One of the most common concerns our members contact us about is their electric rate. As we discussed last month in our newsletter article about understanding billing, Claiborne Electric’s rates are right in the middle of electric rates in the state. However, it has been necessary to slightly increase rates to cover the Co-op’s expenses.
The reason is, like other homes and businesses, we have seen an exponential rise in the cost of doing business during the past five years. Equipment, plant materials, fleet vehicles, labor, insurance, and all areas of business have risen sharply. While we do everything in our power to reduce expenses and hold the line on rates, we must maintain and upgrade our system in a timely manner to reduce outages and increase reliability. We must replace fleet as it reaches the end of its lifespan. We must provide our employees with living wages and benefits that take care of their families.
The graphic below provides some insight to the cost increases we have seen in the past five years. These items are just a few pieces of equipment we use to keep the lights on for our members. Transformers have risen 63% in cost. Fiberglass crossarms have more than doubled in price. Primary and secondary wire are up 51% and 62%, respectively.
As an electric cooperative, owned by the members we serve, we want to help our members understand everything possible about the Co-op.
Claiborne Electric is a not-for-profit electric utility. As a cooperative, we only charge what is necessary to cover our expenses. In the uncommon years that we do make more than we need, the excess is allocated back to the members. We aren’t in business to make money; we’re in business to deliver reliable, cost-effective power to our members.
As a not-for-profit electric cooperative, we are in business for one reason and one reason only – to meet the needs of our members. As much as we wish we could meet those needs without cost increases affecting rates, we simply can’t. We can, however, promise our members that we will continue to do everything possible to budget wisely, exercise financial responsibility, and manage rates the best we can for our members. After all, we are your friends and neighbors.
