Rates

January 1, 2024

Beginning January 1st, 2024, Park Electric will begin charging a Demand Rate. This rate will be $2.00/Kilowatt Hour (kW). Each residential, commercial, and small industrial meter has a line item on the bill that reflects this usage. Irrigation accounts will not be effected by this change. 

• Power Supply - Park Electric's power supply costs have increased. In 2019, our power supplier started charging Park Electric for overall system demand. Our costs for demand have gone up by over $400,000 over the past four years. Then, in 2023 our power supply rates for kWh increased. This added an additional $165,000 to our bill. In 2025, our power supplier is expected to increase our wholesale power costs by another $231,000.
• Inflation - The cost of materials to build and maintain our system has gone up by 30-100% and in some cases even more, over the past few years. Some items like transformers have gone up by more than 200%. Our service trucks, equipment, and tools have all seen a 30-40% increase in costs to replace them. 
• Infrastructure - Our system continues to grow and because of this we have to build out more lines and meters to serve them. We also have to replace aging poles and wires after they have exceeded their reliable life expectancy.

Every service has different usage patterns. On Park Electric lines, the average household has a peak demand each month of 6 kW. When you multiply this by the new rate of $2.00 per kW, (6 x $2.00) it's $12.00 per month. This number can vary greatly based on your usage patterns and weather.

• Demand is the highest amount of electricity used during a period of time. Members will have a daily peak, generally in the morning of evening. This is when the majority of members peak during the same period. When all the members are peaking at the same time, this creates a peak for the Park Electric distribution system.
• Since electricity must be generated at the moment it's needed, serving demand peaks can require resources that are more expensive since they are harder to plan for and require larger infrastructure to accommodate them.
• A demand fee has always been embedded in our rate, we have chosen to separate part of its cost out to put the power of saving into the member's hands.

Park Electric has minimized increases by managing our costs and implementing a number of cost-saving measures on the system. We have also gone through strategic planning efforts with the board and increased productivity as well. In addition, we are aggressively developing energy efficiency programs to help you save on your bill and help us lower our demand costs overall.

Yes! Park Electric has structured the new rate in a way that rewards members who change their usage habits to lower their demand. Some demand electricity usage is impossible to avoid. For instance, appliances like refrigerators and freezers will need to run periodically, regardless of the time of day. Other loads, especially those that use a large amount of power may be able to run off-peak. Below are a few ways you can reduce your peak:

• We encourage our members to "level your load", and spread out the use of major appliances rather than running them at the same time.
• Do laundry and other chores that require significant amounts of electricity at different times such as mid-day, later in the evening, or on weekends. Consider setting a timer to run your dishwasher, washer and dryer, and other appliances so they don't run all at the same time. 
• Purchase a programmable or smart thermostat to reduce heating and air conditioning to reduce demand. Take advantage of our rebate program when you invest in a new thermostat. Click here for more information!

Availability: Available to members of the Cooperative for residential, small commercial, farm, and ranch services subject to its established rules and regulations. Service on this schedule is limited to single-phase consumers requiring not more than 50 KVA of installed transformer capacity.

Minimum: Park Electric will provide as standard service, up to 200 Amp capacity for the base rate. Over 200 Amp service will be $.50 per KVA in excess of 15 KVA plus the base rate.

All meters, regardless of usage, have a monthly base rate based on the size of the service. The new rate is highlighted below.

Net-metered accounts are available to members of the Cooperative for residential, small commercial, farm, and ranch services and are subject to its established rules and regulations. Service in this rate class is limited to single-phase consumers requiring not more than 50 KVA of installed transformer capacity. New demand rate is highlighted below

Each year in April, any excess generation zeroed out at true up.

This rate is available to members for seasonal irrigation, located adjacent to the Cooperative's power lines. It is billed from May 1st through October 31st. A charge of $19.00 per horsepower per season will be billed in April of each year. In no case will the annual minimum be less than $190.00 for a single phase and $380.00 for a three-phase installation.

No Capital Credits will be paid on this category of service unless it provides margin to the whole of the Cooperative.

Availability: Available to three phase commercial, small industrial consumers, residential, and farm and ranch consumers for all uses including lighting, appliances, cooking, heating, and motors, all subject to the established rules and regulations of the association covering this service.

Consumers having their home on the same premises with their business establishment, may include service to both with the same meter.

Single phase consumers requiring more than 50 KVA of transformer capacity will be served under this rate schedule.

MINIMUM:

The standard service minimum on all commercial services shall be the applicable base rate plus $.75 per kVA.