NOVEC Customers Are Paying Less for Electricity

Northern Virginia Electric Cooperative (NOVEC) customer-owners are paying less for electricity than they were in recent years because of a 2011 rate reduction, coupled with a power cost adjustment credit they are receiving in 2012. U.S. residential consumers who receive power from investor-owned utilities paid on average US$125 for 1,000 kWh of electricity in January 2012 while NOVEC customers paid $119.24.

NOVEC uses short- and long-term contracts to purchase power from several sources. In 2013, the co-op will add another 50 MW of green electricity to its power mix when a biomass plant it is building comes on-line. The plant will meet all environmental standards yet keep power costs competitive.

“We ended our long-time power supply contract at the end of 2008 in an effort to stabilize wholesale power costs,” explained Stan Feuerberg, NOVEC president and CEO. “Costs had spiraled upward by 60% in six years, and we wanted to drive them downward for our customer-owners.”

With lower power costs, NOVEC sought a rate decrease and a fee modification in 2010. The Virginia State Corporation Commission approved the request in 2011, and the co-op reduced residential rates by 4.5% and commercial rates by 8.5%.

For more information, visit www.novec.com.