Record-breaking heat, record electric bills
CoServ Members are having sticker shock when they open their electric bills and for good reason – the summer heat was one for the books and the cost per kilowatt-hour peaked at some of the highest prices it’s ever been thanks to the steep increase in wholesale power costs.
These higher electricity costs are affecting all utilities in Texas this summer, not just CoServ Members.
What does natural gas have to do with electricity?
The biggest culprit for higher electricity prices has been the rise in natural gas prices. Natural gas fuels 38 percent of the electricity generation in the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT).
As natural gas prices go up, the cost of wholesale electricity also rises.
Natural gas prices have gone from $2 per million British thermal units to as much as $9 per MMBtu in the last 12 months.
What makes up my rate?
Your rate is made up of three parts: wholesale power costs, transmission and substation costs, and local delivery costs. Because CoServ is a distributor, we buy our electricity from other sources. Above is a breakdown of the costs that go into the price you pay per kWh.
As the cost of electricity goes up and down, those changes are passed through to CoServ and we pass those on to our Members. As an electric co-op, we have no incentive to mark up the electricity we purchase for you.
