At Clearwater Power, a not-for-profit, member-owned electric cooperative, we strive to hold down costs for our members while providing safe, reliable power and quality customer service.
The costs to buy and deliver power to our members continue to increase. We have seen increases in the cost of supplies, equipment, operations, and the cost of buying wholesale power. Maintaining a strong, reliable system and a financially sound cooperative has become increasingly challenging in the current economic environment.
Clearwater Power has held off raising rates for 3 years but must now implement a rate increase. This decision involved careful analysis and thoughtful discussions. We conducted a cost-of-service analysis to evaluate and design rates to fairly recover increasing costs. The rate changes were reviewed and approved by the member-elected board of directors, who all live on cooperative lines.
The rate change affects all customers and will be effective on the January billing cycle. Members paying monthly will see the new rates on the bills they receive for electricity used from December 20, 2024, to January 20, 2025. This bill will be mailed at the end of January and is due February 20. Members using the pre-pay option will see the daily adjustments beginning December 30 and will include a level-set for December 20 through December 30.
The average residential home will see an increase of about 7%. Each member’s peak demand will impact their specific increase. With an average demand use, this is about $5 per month. However, because some members have a higher demand, they may see higher increases, while others with lower peak demand may experience lower increases.
There are 3 charges on every bill: a service availability fee, a charge for energy, and a peak demand charge.
- All residential customers will see a $3.25 increase in service availability fees. The service availability charge will increase from $34.75 to $38 a month.
- The charge for energy, displayed as kilowatt-hours, will not change. It remains at $.0904 per kWh.
- The demand charge will increase from 25 cents per kilowatt to 92 cents per kW, a difference of 67 cents per kW.
While all members will see an increase, please note these figures are for residential customers only. Commercial, industrial, and high-load services have different rates.
For more information on rate changes and answers to frequently asked questions, visit clearwaterpower.com/rate-changes.
Minimizing the Increase
Clearwater Power is working hard to minimize the impact of these necessary price increases.
You can help reduce your energy bill by decreasing the amount of electricity you use or limiting the number of appliances and devices that run simultaneously.
The more energy you are using at once, the higher the peak demand charge on your bill, which is measured in kilowatts. Energy charges measure the total used over time in kilowatt-hours. Limiting the number of appliances running at once may reduce your peak demand, and limiting the number of times per billing cycle you run the appliance will reduce your energy use.
You can also learn more about energy efficiency and available rebates and incentives on the rebates page.