BLUEBONNET MEMBERS TO SEE ELECTRIC RATE REDUCTION IN OCTOBER
Bluebonnet Electric Cooperative will lower the fuel portion of its electric rate by a half-cent, beginning with bills that will be mailed on Oct. 1. The half-cent reduction equates to a $5 savings for every 1,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity consumed. The average Bluebonnet residential member consumes an average of 1,200 kilowatt hours a month.
This is the second time this year Bluebonnet has reduced the fuel portion of its electric rate. It also lowered it a half-cent in February.
“We constantly monitor the cost of electricity in the wholesale market and pass along savings to our members whenever we can,” said Mark Rose, Bluebonnet’s general manager. “This rate reduction is due in large part to low natural gas prices. Our Board of Directors felt it was appropriate to continue to pass these savings on to our members, especially with cold winter months coming up.”
Two factors determine an electric bill: cost and consumption. There are three components to cost – the wholesale rate, the distribution rate, and the fuel portion. As fuel prices fluctuate, particularly natural gas, the fuel portion, called the power cost recovery factor, decreases or increases. Bluebonnet passes savings or increases to its members by adjusting the power cost recovery factor. The wholesale and distribution rates are stable, changing only every few years.
Weather is the single biggest factor in energy consumption for residential consumers.
“We know August was a hot month and our members saw that in their electric bills,” Rose said. “Reducing the fuel portion of our electric rate now, coupled with expected milder fall temperatures will provide relief from high electric bills. But winter is not far off. As we have seen the past couple of years, a few strong, lingering cold fronts can lead to low temperatures and unwelcome high electric bills.”
It is not uncommon during fall and winter in Texas to have unseasonably warm temperatures one week, then bitterly cold temperatures a week or two later, sometimes within the same electric billing cycle.
Bluebonnet members can keep track of their energy consumption and cost on a daily, or even hourly, basis by creating an online account on bluebonnet.coop or via our mobile app for smartphones. The Energy Tracking Tool offers members a way to eliminate surprising electric bills and reduce their power use.
“Our online Energy Tracking Tool enables members to monitor their consumption and see how much energy they’ve used, their cost to date and what their bill is projected to be at the end of their billing cycle,” Rose said. “Members can set up alerts to notify them when their bill reaches a certain amount. No one has to be shocked anymore when they open their electric bill.”
To use the Energy Tracking Tool at bluebonnet.coop, members must have an online account. Setting up an online account is easy. Members need their account number and the name on the account. Click on Register at the top of any page on the website and follow the simple directions.
For more information, call a Bluebonnet member service representative at 800-842-7708, Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.