Your Electric Bill Explained
Customer Charge
A fixed monthly charge for the availability of electric service. This charge covers costs associated with providing customer service and expenses related to meters, customer accounting and billing.
Utility Charge
Covers operation costs (power plants, substations, interest on loans, depreciation, 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.
Rounds up bill to the nearest dollar. This amount is not in connection wiht any goods or services. Collection amounts are authorized by GVEA Bylaws. The small change from each bill is pooled together and raises thousands of dollars every year that go to building a stronger community. The program is overseen by a volunteer board of trustees. If you do not wish to participate, call 907-452-1151 or 1-800-770-4832 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?
The term "kilowatts" (one kilowatt is 1,000 watts) is usually used when speaking of power production or power needs. A power plant generates kilowatts; power is billed 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 600 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.
