SCOTT CITY – The Wheatland Electric Cooperative Inc. Board of Trustees voted on Tuesday to spread any additional costs from the recent unprecedented winter weather event evenly over a 12-month time period.
Wheatland’s CEO/General Manager Bruce W. Mueller said the utility would like to ensure members that they will continue to do everything possible to mitigate the impact that this March bill has on members. Unfortunately, at this time, the full impact is not known and will not be known until the power bill is received from Sunflower Electric Power Corporation, their generation and transmission provider.
“Just like our members, we are anxiously awaiting our power bill. Once we receive our wholesale power bill, members will be able to see the impact on their bill that generates on March 12,” Mueller said.
Members who are enrolled in automatic bank draft or recurring credit and debit card payments should not be concerned that a large amount will be withdrawn from their account. Wheatland will not have this entire lump sum amount withdrawn from any member’s account at one time. Any additional costs from this winter weather event will be spread out evenly over a 12-month time period starting with the March bill.
Additionally, Wheatland’s rates are not changing as they are set by tariffs. This tariff includes a stated cost of electricity per kilowatt hour and are determined by a cost-of-service study. The most recent cost of service study was completed in 2019 and the current rates reflect that cost-of-service study recommendations. Members can expect to see an increase in the Power Cost Adjustment on their upcoming bill, due to the increased cost of natural gas. Additionally, members most likely used more power than usual during the month of February due to the extreme cold weather. Both factors will contribute to a higher than average monthly bill.
This is a continually evolving situation and more will be learned in the coming days and weeks. Wheatland Electric will continue to keep customers updated on social media and its website, www.weci.net. A video message from CEO Mueller can be viewed at https://youtu.be/Nywr8-Lc-z8.
