It is truly amazing to look at what has happened since the cost of fuel has risen to record levels here in the United States.  Hardly a product or service has not been affected by the increases in fuel prices. 

The cost of products French Broad Electric purchases for the construction of its electric lines has risen dramatically over the past three years.  For instance, in 2004 a 25 Kva pad mount transformer cost around $750; now it is almost $1200.  Most of our materials have increased by 50 to 60 percent. Copper wire and materials made of copper have tripled in price.  In addition, our wholesale fuel charges from our power supplier were one million dollars for 2004; already for the first 5 months of 2007 we are approaching two million dollars.  This number is projected to be over 5 million dollars by the end of the year.  French Broad EMC and its board of directors have made every effort to minimize costs wherever possible while maintaining our current level of electrical service to our members.  However, those efforts have not been enough to cover all of these substantial increases. 

In order to assure French Broad EMC meets the financial requirements set forth by the Federal Government, new rates will go into effect starting August 1, 2007.  Residential and Seasonal rates will now have a $10 monthly facilities charge and an 8.9 cent energy charge.  For an average user, this will represent about a three dollar increase in his or her bill per month.  Small Commercial and Large Power customers will also see the energy charge increase by 0.3 cents; and the facilities charges will be $20 for a single phase connection and $30 for a three phase connection.  Even with these increases, French Broad EMC members still have competitive rates which are below the state average for electric cooperatives despite having some of the lowest customer density and highest cost of maintenance due to our rugged terrain.

If you do not remember the last time your electric rate was increased, don’t be discouraged. The facilities charge has been $8 since 1985.  At that time gasoline was one dollar per gallon, milk was $0.85 per gallon, and a postage stamp was 22 cents.  The kilowatt hour charge has been 8.6 cents since 1991.  In those days the average price of a new car was $11,000 dollars, ground beef was 90 cents per pound, and it cost $3.25 to see a movie. 

FBEMC has been very fortunate to keep energy prices constant, relying on growth in membership to keep up with cost increases.  Unfortunately, as with every other business in this nation, the large increases we have seen in the cost of fuel-related products have reached levels at which we can no longer meet our financial requirements without additional revenue. You may click here to view the new rate schedules.

Thank You,
Jeff Loven
Email: jeff.loven@frenchbroademc.com


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