CVEA Board Approves Rate Change for Residential and Small Commercial Rate Classes
Proposed rate changes to the CVEA Tariff were unanimously approved by the Board of Directors at the regular meeting on Thursday, May 18, 2023. The rate changes come at the conclusion of a year-long rate study.
The primary reason for adjusting rates is to meet the long-term financial and operational needs of the cooperative while maintaining a costly, aging infrastructure. The rate change, as designed, will bring the customer/energy charge for all residential and small commercial members to 11 cents per kWh over the next five years, and is based on the following goals:
- Make up $190,000 in annual revenue shortfall
- Raise residential and small commercial rates to more closely balance with the cost of service provided
- Unify rates between districts
- Fund major projects that directly impact future system reliability
The portion of the member bill that will change is the customer/energy charge, which makes up roughly 25-percent of the overall bill. The 2023 rate for residential and small commercial rate classes ONLY, will change as follows:
Copper Basin $0.0700/kWh will change to $0.0850/kWh
Valdez $0.0558/kWh will change to $0.0750/kWh
Approved changes will be effective June 1, and members will see the changes on the June billing.
According to Jaime Matthews, CVEA Chief Financial Officer, “This rate change is critical to meet two strategic goals of the cooperative: financial stability and reliability. Rate increases are never easy, but we appreciate member participation during the public process, and are grateful they understand the necessity of this increase at this time.”
It is important to note that each customer is different based on their usage, but the impact of the changes to an average residential member (one who uses 370 kWh/month in the Copper Basin or 493 kWh/month in Valdez) will be between $5 – $10/month.
All information related to the rate changes, including a presentation and recorded video of the public meeting, can be found at https://www.cvea.org/about/corporate-documents/tariff.html.
For additional information or to request a personal impact statement, please email customerservice@cvea.org.