For the third year in a row, Valley Rural Electric Cooperative is reducing the rate members pay for one month's electricity. The bill Valley members receive in January reflects a two-cent cut in the kilowatt-hour rate for electricity used in December 2021.
Valley Rural Electric's board of directors approved the purchased power adjustment at its December board meeting. The move saved the co-op's membership about $500,000, right after the holidays. The reduction was possible due to lower-than-anticipated wholesale power costs through 2021 and the efforts of members to reduce the use of electricity during peak demand periods.
"Our wholesale power costs from Allegheny Electric were lower than anticipated," said Valley REC President & CEO Rich Bauer. "Also, this past year, we did not have many serious storms, which kept our outage restoration costs fairly low."
Valley REC's kilowatt-hour rate is 9.95 cents. A kilowatt-hour (kWh) is enough energy to power a 100-watt lightbulb for 10 hours. A typical household uses about 1,000 kWh per month.
An article with additional details will appear in the February issue of Penn Lines magazine.