At the most basic level your electric bill is your kwh usage x rate. The more electricity used, the higher the bill. The rate has two main components 1) energy charges and 2) fuel cost adjustment.

1. Energy Charges. The energy charges cover the costs for CEC to make and deliver electricity to you. The energy charge is multiplied by the number of kilowatt hours (kwh) used in that month. An average residence uses about 500 kWhs. The more kWhs used, the higher bills. The full rate schedule can be found in the table below.
2. Fuel Cost Adjustment. The fuel cost adjustment is a separate charge that collects for the fuel used in the diesel generators. Since CEC uses more diesel fuel in the winter when less water is flowing at the hydroelectric facilities, the fuel cost adjustment is higher in the winter and lower in the summer. This rate is calculated on a quarterly basis. CEC doesn’t make a profit on the fuel cost adjustment; it is a full pass through to the customer. Any amounts over or under collected are rolled into the next quarter’s rate. The graph below shows the average residential bill broken out into energy charges and fuel surcharges.

Rate Classes. Customers are divided into rate classes according to their power needs. Some rate classes have different summer and winter rates and some have a tiered structure with rates decreasing the more kWhs used each month. Commercial rate classes also have a demand fee, which is multiplied by highest kilowatt demand for the month.

Qualifying Facilities. CEC may purchase power from customers with their own small scale renewable generation. The qualifying facilities rate is the price per kWh that CEC can pay for that power without it competing (being too expensive) with its current generation sources. The rate is calculated quarterly like the fuel cost adjustment. Since diesel is an expensive source of power, CEC can pay more in the winter to avoid that diesel generation expense. Hydro generation is drastically inexpensive compared to diesel, so when CEC is predominantly hydro in the summer, the rate goes down because there is little cost to avoid. If you have small-scale renewable generation or are looking to purchase something similar, please contact our office, as there are size constraints and additional infrastructure that needs to be known to determine eligibility.