Effective with Consumer-member billings that begin on April 1, Flint Energies’ residential base charge will move from $30 per month to $31 per month. This change continues an initiative that’s been underway for several years to gradually align the monthly service charge with the fixed costs of operating the electric system. The increase equals $12 for one year of service, the average cost of one lunch meal.
 
“As a local, not-for-profit electric cooperative, we’re committed to providing reliable service at an affordable cost,” says Flint Energies Vice President of Cooperative Communications Marian McLemore. “Our primary goal is to minimize the effects of potential increases while maintaining our high standard of safe, continuous service to our Members. We work to reduce expenses and look for new ways to operate more efficiently to help control costs for all Members. While the base charge is moving to better match fixed costs, our Board also works aggressively to share the benefits of cheaper natural gas and energy through the monthly Wholesale Power Cost Adjustment (WPCA). Last year, the WPCA reduced member bills by $3.7 million.”
 
Flint updates its cost of service calculation every two years; it offers a direct and accurate reflection of current expenses. The base charge, or access fee, covers the costs of operating the Cooperative and delivering power. It also includes covering the co-op’s cost to maintain more than 6,800 miles of electric lines and 53 substations, while providing 24/7 service and an outage reporting system. The computed cost of providing service to a residential location is more than $33 per month. The base charge averages to slightly more than a dollar a day. The kilowatt-hour charge for all residential rates will remain unchanged. The wholesale power cost adjustment rider, which can change monthly, fluctuates based on the costs to generate power.
 
Base rate changes will also be in effect for the other rate schedules which have been billed at $30 per month. Those rate schedules will be billed at $31 per month and will affect approximately 900 non-residential accounts. General service non-demand accounts will be billed at $33 per month.  All changes will start April 1.