For more than 85 years, Big Country Electric Cooperative has provided safe, reliable and affordable electric service to the members and communities we serve. As your member-owned cooperative, our responsibility is to maintain the electric system you depend on today while planning responsibly for the future.
Following a recent cost-of-service study and careful review by BCEC’s board of directors and management team, the cooperative will implement a phased rate update beginning with bills rendered in November 2026 for October usage.
The study, conducted by the Cooperative Finance Corporation, found that current rates no longer align with the cost of providing electric service. Like many industries, electric utilities continue to experience rising costs for materials, equipment, vehicles, fuel, maintenance and infrastructure.
Using updated financial and operational data from the study, BCEC determined that a rate update was necessary to help support long-term reliability and financial stability while continuing to provide safe and dependable service. The cooperative remains financially healthy, and the purpose of this update is to help ensure BCEC can continue making the long-term investments needed to maintain and strengthen the electric system that serves our members.
We realize that families, including our farmers, ranchers and business owners, are also managing rising costs in their own operations. To help minimize the impact on members, BCEC’s board and leadership chose to implement the rate update gradually over three years, similar to the cooperative’s previous rate adjustment, in 2019.
A member’s electric bill consists of several components, including a facility charge, an energy charge and, for some commercial and individual rate classes, a demand charge. Another component is the power cost adjustment, which reflects fluctuations in the cost of purchased power and fuel used for electric generation. BCEC purchases power from Golden Spread Electric Cooperative, and those costs increase and decrease based on fuel prices and market conditions.
The current rate update is separate from the PCA and focuses on adjustments to facility charges for residential, farm and seasonal accounts as well as an energy charge update for certain commercial classes identified through the cost-of-service study.
Rate Update Overview
For residential, farm and seasonal accounts, the rate update will be implemented through the monthly facility charge, which helps support the infrastructure, equipment and ongoing maintenance required to deliver electricity safely and reliably to your location. The per-kilowatt-hour energy charge for these rate classes will not change as part of this update.
Residential and seasonal accounts will see a $4 monthly facility charge increase in November 2026, November 2027 and November 2028.
Farm accounts will see a $3.50 monthly facility charge increase in November 2026, followed by $4 increases in November 2027 and November 2028.
Whether a member uses a little electricity or a lot, the cooperative still must maintain more than 5,380 miles of power lines, more than 13,650 meters and substations, vehicles and other equipment across our service territory. Those costs exist year-round, which is why the facility charge is an important part of how the co-op recovers the cost of providing service.
Commercial Rate Updates
While the rate update for residential, farm and seasonal accounts focuses on adjustments to the facility charge, certain commercial rate classes will see adjustments to their energy charges.
Commercial accounts use electricity differently from residential members, so their rate structures differ and include a demand charge in addition to the facility and energy charges. Demand charges help recover the cost of maintaining the capacity required to serve higher electrical loads, particularly during peak usage.
As part of the recent rate review process, BCEC identified certain commercial energy charges that no longer aligned with the cooperative’s purchased power costs. These adjustments are designed to improve cost alignment and help ensure each rate class contributes an equitable share toward the cost of providing electric service.
Beginning with November billing, the energy charge for medium power services (SS150, PS150, SS350 and PS350) and auxiliary services greater than 25 kilowatts (AS > 25) will increase from $0.055695 per kilowatt-hour to $0.065 per kilowatt-hour. The energy charge for large power services (S > 350 and P > 350) will increase from $0.046764 per kilowatt-hour to $0.065 per kilowatt-hour.
District Member Meetings
Members who would like to learn more about the rate update are invited to attend one of BCEC’s district member meetings Tuesday, September 1, from 5 to 6:30 p.m. Meetings will be held at the cooperative’s Roby, Snyder and Stamford offices. Co-op staff and leadership will be available to answer questions and visit with members about the upcoming changes.
Looking Ahead
We understand that no one welcomes higher costs, and these decisions are never made lightly. As a not-for-profit electric cooperative, BCEC does not operate to generate profits for outside shareholders. Instead, rates are designed to reflect the actual cost of providing service while ensuring the cooperative remains financially strong enough to continue delivering the reliable service our members expect.
As a member-owned cooperative, BCEC’s approach to rates is guided by the people who use and depend on the system every day. The board of directors and management team carefully reviewed the findings of the cost-of-service study and the long-term needs of the cooperative before moving forward with this phased rate update.
Our goal remains the same as always: providing safe, reliable electric service while balancing affordability for the communities we serve.
