The facility charge represents a cooperative member's equal share of our fixed costs, or those costs to purchase, build, inspect and maintain power lines, substations, equipment and buildings - the infrastructure to provide you with reliable electricity, no matter how much energy, or kilowatt-hours, you actually use.
The amount of electricity used as measured in kilowatt-hours (kWh), multiplied by the current rate. Energy rates differ between summer and winter.
View Current Rates.
The PCA represents costs to generate electricity that are passed on to OEC by Dairyland Power Cooperative (DPC), our power supplier, that are beyond what was projected to be collected through the normal rate structure.
Each month, OEC compares the amount and cost of power purchased and sold to our annual budget. Any variations in the actual versus projected power costs go into a formula that sets the PCA charge. As a not-for-profit electric cooperative, all members share in the increased costs of electric energy, even when those costs are outside the control of the cooperative. The goal of the PCA is to help collect the full cost of wholesale power purchased from DPC for our members.
Expressed as "kW" or "kilowatts", demand is defined as the rate at which a member consumes electricity at a given time. Demand can be thought of as the speedometer reading in your car. It is the rate at which energy is being consumed.
Demand charge is calculated for the highest power usage during at 15-minute period within that month at the amount of $0.25 kW. The average household monthly demand is roughly 10 kW, which equates to approximately $2.50 per month.
The Energy Demand Calculator is an estimation tool to educate on how various appliances while used together, can affect the demand charge.
Learn how you can earn a monthly credit on air conditioning, dual fuel and water heater's through our Load Management program.
A monthly non-taxable charge mandated by the State of Wisconsin that funds energy efficiency and low income energy assistance programs. This is not an OEC charge.
Operation Round Up® funds are generated through a voluntary rounding up of your bill to the next nearest dollar. This change is used to assist worthy causes right here in our communities.