MEC members will see lower electric bills beginning in August when the local cooperative lowers its rates. The typical residential member using 1,000 kWh per month on the Farm and Home Rate Schedule will see a savings of $7.98, or $95.76 in yearly savings.
“We are pleased to share notice of this price decrease. Over the past year, consumers across Virginia and nationwide have experienced inflationary increases, feeling pain at the gas pump and while filling a grocery cart … everything has just gone up, and unfortunately, energy costs were not spared the radical price increases of 2022,” said MEC President and CEO John C. Lee Jr. “However, the upcoming decrease is a reflection of energy prices easing in the region and highlights the exemplary management practices implemented by our wholesale power partner, Old Dominion Electric Cooperative, who is passing reductions along to us. In turn, we are passing the savings on to our Members.”
According to ODEC, energy prices in the mid-Atlantic tend to follow natural gas prices as our region relies heavily on natural gas for electricity generation. As natural gas prices have decreased from the significant highs that we saw in 2022, ODEC is able to lower electric rates for its 11 cooperative members this summer. ODEC is the wholly owned generation and transmission subsidiary of MEC and 10 other electric cooperatives across Virginia, Maryland, and Delaware.
David Jones, MEC Board chairman stated, “Over the past few years, markets have driven generation fuels to historically high levels, but ODEC’s hedging policies have protected us against the major brunt of such impact. The bottom line is that we leverage our partnerships to strengthen the Cooperative’s financial position and keep our rates as low as possible.” Both John Lee and David Jones represent MEC on the ODEC board of directors and are among its 22-member board. Over the past three years Lee has served as Chairman of the ODEC Board.
“At MEC, we recognize that soaring costs on everything has been challenging for our Members,” Lee said. “We work diligently, as does ODEC, in managing and mitigating the costs over which we have control to make affordable electricity a reality. It is important to note that MEC and ODEC pass along rate decreases when prices decrease, and additionally return profits to our Members through capital credit retirements. In December, MEC returned $550,880 in margins, or capital credits, to our Members. Additionally, your Cooperative recorded a strong year in 2022, allocating an additional $4 million in margins that also will ultimately be returned to you.”
In closing, Lee said, “We value our Members and remain committed to providing them with the same reliable service they’ve come to expect at the lowest cost possible. As a not-for-profit cooperative, MEC has provided safe, reliable electricity at the lowest possible cost for 85 years, and we’ll not waiver from that mission.”