Manager's Message

Reliable electricity is something most of us only think about when it is not there, but at Central Electric, reliability is something we think about every day. It guides how we plan, where we invest, and the work our crews perform across the system year round. From routine system maintenance and equipment upgrades to right-of-way trimming and storm preparation, reliability remains at the core of everything we do.

A Shifting Energy Landscape
That commitment has not changed. What has changed is the environment in which electric utilities across the country are operating.

For several years, I have talked with you about a growing challenge facing the electric industry. The loss of dependable, always on generation that has historically helped utilities meet demand during peak periods has reduced overall capacity at the same time electricity demand continues to grow. Decisions to shutter these resources, often before adequate replacements are available, have created real constraints. Population growth, economic development and new technologies are all increasing the need for power, not decreasing it.

When demand exceeds available supply, utilities are forced into the open power market to purchase extra capacity, often at much higher, closer to retail, prices rather than the lower, longer-term costs sourced from generation resources that supply electricity to us on a daily basis. This situation is not unique to Central Electric. It is a national issue being discussed across the country as utilities and policymakers grapple with how to permit and build new generation fast enough to meet both existing and rapidly growing demand.

While renewable resources are an important and growing part of the energy mix, many are weather dependent and not always available when electricity is needed most. Until additional generation and storage solutions can be built and brought online at scale, utilities must operate in a tighter, more volatile power market, one that places upward pressure on costs for everyone.

The Ongoing Work
At the same time, the work required to keep our local electric system reliable continues without pause. Materials such as wire, poles, transformers, and other critical components cost significantly more than they did just a few years ago.

Labor, fuel, and contractor costs have also increased. Yet, maintenance work, including vegetation management, equipment inspections and system upgrades, cannot be deferred without increasing the risk of outages and longer restoration times.

That is why you will continue to see our crews and contractors out in the community trimming trees near power lines, maintaining right-of-way areas and making improvements designed to strengthen the system. These efforts are essential to delivering the safe, reliable service our members expect.

Maintaining Reliability is Key
As a not-for-profit cooperative, we don’t make decisions lightly when it comes to your electric rates. Every dollar we collect goes back into serving you, our members, by maintaining the system, purchasing power and planning for the future. However, given the sustained increases in wholesale power and operating costs, a rate adjustment of 7% to the kWh rate and an increase of $4 in the base facility charge is absolutely necessary at this point to keep up with the steeply increasing costs being experienced by the co-op. These changes will take effect on June 1. In next month’s newsletter we’ll provide a more detailed explanation of what the change means and how it may affect your bill.

Our Commitment to You
For now, it’s important to understand why this adjustment is necessary. Maintaining reliability in today’s energy landscape requires continued investment in infrastructure, in maintenance, and in securing power when it’s needed most. Failing to make those investments would ultimately cost more, both financially and in the form of reduced service reliability.

Our commitment remains unchanged: to provide safe, reliable, and affordable electricity while being transparent about the challenges we face and the decisions we make on your behalf.

The decisions we make today determine how reliably we can serve you, our members, tomorrow. We appreciate the trust you place in Central Electric, and we’ll continue working every day to earn it.

Until next time,