Why is my Fuel Cost Adjustment so HIGH?

What is a fuel cost adjustment?

If the amount paid by C&L Electric to its wholesale electric supplier for the energy purchased differs from what is built into the base electric rates, then this fuel cost adjustment is applied to each member's bill. This adjustment factor — charge or credit — is multiplied by kilowatt-hours used in the current month. The fuel cost adder is a direct pass-through for increased costs. There is no markup over what C&L Electric must pay for fuel used for power generation.

Why is it going up now?

Due to supply-chain issues and labor shortages with railroads that supply some generation facilities, AECC has had to rely more on natural gas as a fuel source for generating electricity, just as the market price for natural gas has sharply risen. U.S. natural gas prices were as high as $7.48/MMBtu in mid-April. Natural gas prices were almost three times higher in April 2022 than in April 2021, and more than four times higher than in April 2020.

When will the fuel cost adjustment go down?

Natural gas prices are anticipated to remain high for the rest of 2022. AECC anticipates some relief in fuel costs as supply chain issues are resolved and additional generation facilities are brought back online, but the fuel price will likely remain above average for at least the next several months.

What can I do?

The most effective way to lessen the impact of increased energy costs is to reduce your energy usage:

Other Frequently Asked Questions

Why is there a convenience fee charged in addition to my bill amount when paying by credit/debit card and pay-by-phone?

The convenience fee is a fee that is charged by the company that processes the online and pay-by-phone transactions for C&L Electric Cooperative.

How soon after I make payment will it be reflected on my account?

Credit/Debit card and pay-by-phone payments are posted to your account within seconds of you completing the transaction.

Are credit/debit card payments received in any of the C&L Electric Cooperative offices?

At this time, credit/debit card payments can only be processed by our internet website or pay-by-phone. Credit/debit payments cannot be made in person.

Why is it important to update my member information?

You can take steps today to help us restore your power more quickly the next time you have an outage. If you call to report a power outage, your call is usually answered by our Star City office. However, if you call after working hours or in the case of a widespread outage, you will be connected to our cooperative response center. Our cooperative response center is designed to handle the large volume of calls that occur during a widespread outage, which allows us to help you faster during an outage. When your call is answered, you’ll be asked for your phone number which is used to look up your account record. Your account record is verified against your 911 address and entered into our computer system which sorts outage calls by location. This frees up our dispatchers to assist service personnel in locating the source of the outage and helps us restore your power more quickly! Many of you have a different phone number than when you first became a C & L customer. To locate your account quickly in the case of an outage, we need your current phone number and 911 address.