It’s a balancing act: An update on power costs

We’ve talked a lot about the coop­er­a­tive dif­fer­ence, and we hope you see it lived out every day, through reli­able ser­vice, quick response dur­ing out­ages and trans­paren­cy in our deci­sions. One of the most impor­tant respon­si­bil­i­ties of your Board of Trustees is to review and set rates, bal­anc­ing the cost of pow­er with our com­mit­ment to keep­ing your ser­vice afford­able. Last year, we nav­i­gat­ed unprece­dent­ed cost increas­es, and we will con­tin­ue to keep you informed amidst upcom­ing chal­lenges.

Ear­li­er this year, in Feb­ru­ary 2025, mem­bers expe­ri­enced a 6% rate adjust­ment to help cov­er the sig­nif­i­cant rise in both pow­er costs and equip­ment need­ed to serve you. At that time, we knew these chal­lenges would like­ly con­tin­ue, and we have now con­firmed that costs will con­tin­ue to rise. While your coop­er­a­tive remains finan­cial­ly sound, the price of gen­er­at­ing and dis­trib­ut­ing elec­tric­i­ty con­tin­ues to climb.

Through Cen­tral Elec­tric Pow­er Coop­er­a­tive, Inc., the gen­er­a­tion and trans­mis­sion coop­er­a­tive that serves South Carolina’s elec­tric co-ops, we band togeth­er to secure the best price pos­si­ble on your behalf.

Because elec­tric coop­er­a­tives are not-for-prof­it, every dol­lar earned is invest­ed back into pro­vid­ing reli­able ser­vice, with mar­gins returned to you in the form of cap­i­tal cred­its. Even still, York Elec­tric must pay the same whole­sale pow­er costs passed along to all util­i­ties. Because our state’s coop­er­a­tives rely on local bal­anc­ing author­i­ties to gen­er­ate the pow­er we dis­trib­ute to our mem­bers, we receive pric­ing sig­nals from them that inf luence how much we pay for the pow­er you use in your homes and busi­ness­es. We recent­ly received more detailed infor­ma­tion that con­firms our expec­ta­tions that pow­er costs would increase, and we are pre­pared for the remain­der of this year and into the future.

Your Board of Trustees will meet soon to deter­mine the best way for­ward. Like always, their goal is to find the best pos­si­ble solu­tion with the low­est pos­si­ble impact on you, our mem­bers.

We know high­er costs are nev­er wel­come. That’s why we are com­mit­ted to being trans­par­ent with you and proac­tive in plan­ning. Thank you for trust­ing us to look out for you and to be your part­ner as we nav­i­gate these eco­nom­ic real­i­ties togeth­er.