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For Electric Cooperative Members
South Plains EC News

The Value of Electricity Continues to Shine

Electricity keeps us connected to our modern world

How many of us remember dropping into a South Plains Electric Cooperative office with our parents and grandparents to pay the “light” bill? Whether you do that today in person, by mail, online, by phone or the SPEC App, paying your monthly bill does a lot more than just keep the lights on.

Electricity keeps us connected to our modern world. Consider all the necessities and conveniences we enjoy in part because of the power lines running to the electric meter outside your home.

Count up your televisions, computers, printers, gaming consoles, personal assistant devices and music/video players. Whether they are used every day or just occasionally, the electricity that keeps them working comes from South Plains Electric.

Have you looked around your kitchen lately? Between the coffee maker and toaster and the microwave and electric skillet, a lot of us have added several other modern small appliances. If you have a craft nook or workshop, the power tools and machines you use to cut and shape your projects are either plugged in or recharged from the outlets connecting your household wiring to South Plains Electric Cooperative.

The good news is, even as we rely more on electricity, it’s still a bargain, especially compared to other things we pay for regularly.

Since 2011, medical care, residential rental rates and education have increased at rates of 3 percent or more per year. Butter, meat and egg costs have been up by more than 1 to 2 percent annually, and even bread costs have risen better than a half point on average.

Nationally, electricity costs rise about 1 percent a year. At your Cooperative, the 2017 average residential rate was 26 percent below the national average and 17 percent below the Texas average. That’s great value for your dollar!

Co-ops across the country have reported a decline in average residential use per household since 2010. That means members are doing more things with less energy.

Kilowatt hour use per household dropped by 8 percent between 2010 and 2016, slightly less than the 9 percent decline reported by all electric utilities, nationwide.

When it comes to value, electricity is a clear winner, and we’re always looking for ways to work with you to make it even better. That’s why South Plains Electric urges energy efficiency, encourages you to look for ENERGY STAR® appliances, and promotes technology designed to give members more control over their electricity use.

Energy performance dashboards, smart thermostats and power strips, and appliance settings that shift most water heating, laundry and dishwashing outside of peak rate periods help reduce the Co-op’s overall power demand. They also give you opportunities to control or even trim your monthly utility bills.

The cooperative is always looking for ways to help families, couples and individuals trying to live within their budgets. And it’s going to become even more important as our dependence on digital devices and internet-connected technologies grows.

The average home now has 10 Wi-Fi connected devices. That number is expected to explode to 50 by 2020. Technology and the gateways that keep it working use electricity, so you’ll depend upon South Plains Electric for more than the power that keeps the lights on.

That’s why we’re always working to provide safe, reliable electric service at the lowest possible cost. We know it’s important to you, your family and your neighbors, so it’s important to us.