Your Electric Bill Explained

Customer Charge

A flat monthly fee that covers costs for meter reading, billing and customer service.

Utility Charge

Covers operation costs (power plants, substations, interest on loans, power poles, transformers, etc.) and billed on kWh used.

Fuel and Purchased Power

Directly related to the price of fuel to generate power and the cost to purchase power from other utilities (e.g. Aurora Energy and Chugach Electric Assn.) and is calculated quarterly.

Regulatory Charge

GVEA is a regulated utility. This charge is set by and funds the Regulatory Commission of Alaska.

Good¢ents Donation

Rounds up bill to the nearest dollar. Donated funds go to local oranizations and individuals in need. This amount is not in connection with any goods or services. If you do not wish to participate, call 907-458-4522 or email goodcents@gvea.com.

Demand Charge

GS2 and GS3 rates for businesses and industry and includes a demand charge per kilowatt. Demand is the maximum rate of delivery of electric energy during the month, measured in kilowatts and registered as the highest average rate of energy used over any fifteen-minute period during the month.

What is a kilowatt-hour?

We usually use the term kilowatts (one kilowatt is 1,000 watts) when speaking of power production or power needs. A power plant makes kilowatts; we sell power in units called kilowatt-hours (kWh). For example, a 100-watt light bulb left on for ten hours uses one kWh of electricity. A typical GVEA residential consumer uses 660 kWh per month.

Calculating Your Monthly Bill

You can calculate your monthly bill based on your prior kWh usage with our bill calculator. Your kWh usage is shown on your monthly billing statement.