The energy charges are a direct pass-through for MEC. It is not marked up or adjusted. MEC is required to provide proof to the ACC that the costs they show are true and accurate. The Customer Charge is the only way for MEC to pay for their fixed costs. The fixed costs include infrastructure, maintenance, vehicles, equipment and more.
Rate Case FAQ
No, although the fiber network benefits the electrical system, the revenue from the broadband service offsets the infrastructure costs over time.
Rate cases are only allowed to collect on costs already incurred by the utility as demonstrated in the most recent audited test year. They do not cover future costs. MEC has expended nearly $45 million over ten years for electrical improvements, cybersecurity, safety, and maintenance to ensure annual growth and increased load is met with reliable electric service for our members.
This past year MEC was ranked 801 of 815, positioning MEC in the top 2% for being the best at holding down operating costs nationwide, and in Arizona MEC ranked the lowest in controllable expense costs to members (11 of 11).
Previously, MEC had the second lowest Customer Charge, and lowest total monthly cost, compared to other member-owned electric providers in Arizona. After the rate case, while the Customer Charge increases, the energy rates decrease, the overall total cost drops, and MEC remains the lowest in the state among member-owned cooperatives.
The average residential member uses 959 kWh of power per month. Previously, with MEC, that cost was $109.63. Under the new rates and changes, it decreases to $106.60.
MEC is member-owned and works diligently to keep costs as low as possible for our members.
To view the application and documents, members are welcome to complete a Member Request Form and provide it to Member Service at the 928 Hancock Road office to view it in person. Also, the application is available at www.mohaveelectric.com. Simply go to Rate Case 2022. The full set of documents will be available on the ACC website (www.azcc.gov) as well.
The Customer Charge is the only part of your electric bill that goes to MEC. The energy charges (kWh) are a passthrough for MEC to pay our wholesale power providers for the electricity and transmission purchased. The Customer Charge is the only method allowed by the ACC to collect or cover all the direct expenses for the cooperative including operations, maintenance, equipment, taxes, payroll, vehicles etc. As a not-for-profit, MEC does not make a profit or pay shareholders dividends or earnings. To qualify for the lowest interest rates possible, MEC is required by our lenders to bring in slightly more income than expenses to demonstrate our ability to collect sufficient revenues to make our payments and to provide for a very small margin for emergencies (unforeseen expenditures). To the extent that MEC does end up with positive margins at the end of the year, those margins are allocated to the members in the form of Capital Credits.
Currently residential customers pay for energy on a tiered rate based on usage – the higher your usage is, the higher tier you shift to and the higher rates you will pay. That won’t change except that the rates in each tier are coming down. What will increase is the Customer Charge. This charge is currently a monthly charge of $18.75 for residential members. If the Rate Case is approved, it will move to $24.31.
In the past 10 years, MEC has spent nearly $45 million in improvements just in the infrastructure to ensure load growth and reliability. Additionally, MEC has allocated an additional $2.9 million in IT security infrastructure including cybersecurity. These are fixed costs that need to be recovered. This increase in the Customer Charge is to recover those additional fixed costs.
The last rate increase was in 2012 after a Cost of Service Study showed that fixed costs and energy costs needed adjustment. The Arizona Corporation Commission approved an adjustment, but not the requested adjustment causing a shortfall in covering the full costs of service over time. Again in 2016 after a Cost of Service Study, MEC adjusted the Customer Charge to reflect the true fixed costs by decoupling fixed costs that were in the energy rate and moving them to the Customer Charge, so every member paid their fair share of fixed costs regardless of the energy usage. The Customer Charge went up and the energy charge went down in accordance with that change.
The new rates have been implemented for February electric usage. These rates will be seen in the March billing period.