Tri-County Electric is a member-owned electric cooperative. We purchase our wholesale power from and are regulated by the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA). The three primary components of your residential electric bill are the Customer Charge, kilowatt hour (kWh) charge and the TVA Fuel Cost Adjustment.
The Customer Charge for Tri-County Electric’s residential member-owners is $20.00 per month. This TVA approved charge covers the cost associated with maintaining your account records including data processing and billing. The Customer Charge does not fluctuate with usage.
The kilowatt hour charge is a TVA approved rate you are charged based on the number of kilowatt hours used. The average monthly usage for Tri-County Electric’s residential member-owners is 1,350 kilowatt hours.
TVA generates electricity for the local power companies throughout the seven-state Tennessee Valley including Tri-County Electric. TVA uses the Fuel Cost Adjustment (FCA) to help recover fuel and purchased power costs they incur each month. In this case, fuel refers to what generates electricity — nuclear, natural gas, coal, hydro and solar. Several factors affect these costs including weather, global supply, and demand issues. When the costs for fuels change, TVA’s cost to make electricity changes. TVA calculates the FCA each month and notifies the local power company (Tri-County Electric) the amount to include in the member-owners’ bill. Tri-County Electric does not add any cost to the TVA Fuel Cost Adjustment. The fuel cost adjustment spiked in July and August resulting in higher bills; however, it has been trending down and is forecast to be less volatile in 2023.
Although we cannot control TVA’s monthly Fuel Cost Adjustment, Tri-County Electric does have a program to help our member-owners avoid those high-cost months associated with extreme temperatures and potential high fuel cost adjustments. Levelized Billing is a FREE program that averages your current monthly bill with the previous eleven months. This process results in monthly bills that will change only slightly from month to month. It’s great for budgeting and eliminates the higher bills associated with sweltering summer and frigid winter months. Contact your local office to take advantage of this no cost program today.
