I feel the frustration in our community as the cost of groceries, gas, insurance and everyday expenses only continues to rise. That’s why keeping your power affordable remains one of our highest priorities.
Our community is growing, and with that growth comes an increasing demand for electricity. More homes, businesses and industries need power, requiring investments in new substations, power lines and generation resources while also maintaining and upgrading existing aging infrastructure. We’re also working to strengthen reliability, preparing for severe weather and protecting our systems against cybersecurity threats. Rising costs for labor, equipment, taxes and financing make nearly every aspect of our work more expensive.
These challenges aren't unique to York Electric, but they directly affect the cost of providing the dependable electricity you count on. Your co-op advocates for solutions to these challenges at our State House and in Washington, D.C. These conversations include ensuring we have ample supplies of electricity generating resources and speeding up the lengthy permitting processes that make infrastructure more expensive to build.
The cost of generating electricity fluctuates with the price of fuels such as natural gas and coal and the materials needed to deliver power to homes and businesses. That's where the Wholesale Power Cost Adjustment, or WPCA, comes in. You may have noticed this term on your electric bill, and while it sounds complicated, it simply helps account for monthly changes in the cost to generate the electricity we purchase on your behalf.
Our co-op’s largest expense, by far, is purchasing the electricity we deliver to your homes and businesses. In fact, approximately 75 cents of every dollar you pay on your power bill goes directly toward purchasing that wholesale power. The WPCA goes up or down each month to account for fluctuations in wholesale power prices. As a member-owned, not-for-profit electric cooperative, we don’t use the WPCA to generate a profit. In fact, your electric rate and WPCA are just enough to cover the cost of the power we provide you.
I wish I could tell you these challenges will soon be behind us. What I can promise is that we will continue managing costs responsibly and transparently. We will speak up for sound public policy that supports affordable and reliable energy. We will always put people above profit by making every decision on what’s best for the members we serve.
We share your concerns about rising costs and what they mean for our families and our future. While we can't control every challenge facing the electric industry, we can control how hard we work on your behalf and how carefully we manage your cooperative's resources. Thank you for your continued trust as we work to keep reliable power as affordable as possible.
President and Chief Executive Officer