A Letter to our Members - December 2008

Central Virginia Electric Cooperative (CVEC) has experienced similar increases in cost that other companies have experienced over the past several years.  Higher prices for everything from metals to wood products to health care have pushed the cost of providing electric service above the present rates, which were originally approved in 2000.  While the recent reduction in fuel costs has helped, the Cooperative must seek higher rates to assure that it remains financially strong and that it will be able to continue to provide reliable electric service to its members.

CVEC plans to file an expedited rate case with the Virginia State Corporation Commission no sooner than 1 February 2009.  This is your notice as a member that we intend to ask for a change in the rates.  We are presently completing the studies necessary to calculate the actual rate request, but we will ask for no more than 4.9% increase in overall revenues.  This figure matches the U. S. cost-of-living increase for the 12 months ending September 30, 2008.

The Cooperative has worked hard to keep costs down.  We have reduced staffing, expanded our use of technology for efficiency, and improved our distribution system to lower the number of outages and their impact.  Now we must ask for you to contribute more to help offset the increased costs.

We last asked for an increase in rates in 2000, prior to rate caps being placed on electric utilities in Virginia.  At that time, we worked to assure we had the ability to discount rates below the cap.  We applied a discount to all rates from 2001 through until November 2006.  CVEC has a history of working to keep rates low for our members, and we will continue that tradition as we strive to provide electric service at reasonable cost.

When CVEC determines the final rate request, we will issue a second notice of the rate filing.  That notice will give more information about the increase, including the actual percentage increase and the impact on the average residential account.  Look for that second notice near the end of December or just after January 1, 2009.