Medina Electric Cooperative is proud to power the homes and businesses of our members. We know that keeping power safe and reliable is key to our service, but we also understand that affordability is crucial too. As a not-for-profit electric cooperative, we are just trying to recoup the costs of doing business. We are not looking to make a profit or make money for investors.
We are all experiencing the impact of rising costs—at the gas pump, at the grocery store and on everyday items. Unfortunately, electric co-ops are not immune to this impact, and we must look at our monthly charges to ensure we are keeping pace with the rising costs.
If you look at your bill each month, you will notice your energy charge, which is the rate established for the type of service for your account. Also on your bill is the power cost adjustment. The PCA is the difference between the Medina EC rate—your energy charge—predicted in advance and the actual rate paid for wholesale power. Each month, Medina EC’s financial team looks at our wholesale power bill. If your statement has a positive PCA, then the wholesale power cost was higher than the rate for your service and the PCA is making up the difference. If your statement shows a negative PCA, then the price of power was lower than the rate and you’re getting credited that difference. The fluctuation is largely caused by the changes in the cost of fuel for generation. A history of power cost adjustments is available on our website at MedinaEC.org/PCA-History.
I’ve been getting the question, “Is our bill going to go up, like everything else?” and the answer, unfortunately, is probably. The increase of natural gas prices is pushing up wholesale power costs across the electric industry, and natural gas is the leading source of power generation for the U.S. Our wholesale power bill has been steadily increasing as a result, and experts advise that we should prepare for higher wholesale power prices through the end of the year. That increase will be reflected on the monthly PCA and will vary month to month, based on our wholesale power bill.
We understand that seeing a higher electric bill is never easy, especially when everything else is more expensive. If you have questions about your bill, please do not hesitate to call us at 1-866-632-3532 and speak to one of our member service representatives. If you need assistance with your bill, we have resources listed on our website at MedinaEC.org/AssistancePrograms.
Please know the team at Medina EC is mindful of costs in our operations while maintaining the integrity of our service. We know it costs money to operate and provide electricity, but we do so with our members in mind.
Until next time,
Trey Grebe
