Today's Electrifying News...

No rate increase in 2008

Tony Anderson, General Manager

Notes from the top of my desk:

No Rate Increase: We filed our year end 2007 financials with the MPSC and I am happy to report that there will be no general rate increase in 2008. We are hopeful even that the power supply adjustment (PSCR) will stay level if not lower the rest of the year. That said, it does look like a rate increase is almost a certainty in 2009. We managed as best we could in 2007 and thus far in 2008 but the way costs continue to climb, it will be very hard to avoid a change in rates for another year.

After Hours Call Center: Effective July 1st, we will be switching our after hours calls to a center in Indiana. We have had many years of great service from our cooperative neighbor in Boyne City, Great Lakes Energy. We have been restricted in that we have had only three available phone lines and that has led to busy signals and member complaints. The Indiana center will give us access to 10 phone lines when we have a storm after the office is closed. Indiana also gives us some geographic diversity to lessen the likelihood that we are hit with the same storm as the after hours call center. All the numbers you call will remain the same.

Outage Weblink: We have added a new feature to our website at www.cecelec.com. Once to the home page, click on outages in the upper right hand corner and you will go to a map of our service area that is color-coded by substation area. There you will be able to see the number of meters out of power in each area. Obviously, if you are out of power, your internet connection will not be available. We added this link at the request of many members who call a friend or family member who does have power. It is also a great internal tool for employees and board members to track outage situations. Personally, I refer to it on my blackberry so I am always informed as to what is going on during a storm. We want to keep the number of outages at zero as much as possible but in those times we can’t, we felt that it is best to share as much information as possible.

Member Regulation Bill: House bill 5383, the Electric Cooperative Member-Regulation Act, was passed in April by a vote of 107-0 and now awaits action in the Senate. This bill would remove Cherryland Electric Cooperative (CEC) from regulation by the Michigan Public Service Commission (MPSC) with respect to rates, charges, accounting standards, billing practices and conditions of service. All these aspects of what CEC does for you could then be decided by the board you elect each year. A typical rate case at the commission can cost easily in the neighborhood of $50,000. Thankfully, we don’t have a rate increase every year but in these times of rising costs every bit of savings is important. The bill will also include provisions for the membership to vote CEC back under MPSC regulation if they feel that it is in their best interest.

Substation on Bugai Road: As I write this on May 1st, it looks like progress is being made by working with Elmwood Township. Options to avoid litigation are being openly discussed and members who have provided input should know that they have made a difference in the process. Wolverine will be a good neighbor and this station will provide improved reliability that will continue to make us all take the flip of a switch for granted.

More Electrifying News >