Deciphering Your Electric Bill

Customer Charge

The Customer Charge, a monthly flat fee, covers a portion of the basic costs of providing electric service. It covers costs for meter reading, billing, customer service and information, as well as office space and equipment. This charge has not increased since 2002, despite indirect effects of the rising price of oil.

Energy Charge (KWH charge)

This charge is multiplied by the number of kilowatt-hours (kWh) used in that monthly billing period. It includes a base cost for fuels such as the coal and oil we use to generate power as well as power we purchase. It covers the costs of power plants and substations and the labor and maintenance to operate them, as well as interest on loans. The costs of wires, poles and transformers to deliver power are also included in this charge.

For our example of the average residential bill, the energy charge is calculated:
750 x $.11389 = 85.4175

Fuel Adjustment

The Fuel Adjustment covers the remaining portion of fuel costs. It is based on a combination of forecasted and actual power costs. This monthly charge allows Golden Valley to pass on increases and decreases in fuel and energy purchases to our members and is calculated quarterly.

In the sample bill, it is calculated as:
750 x $.08877 = 66.5775