Tuesday, May 20, 2008

Denton Municipal Electric increases electric rates

By Pegasus News wire

DENTON — The Public Utilities Board approved increasing Denton Municipal Electric's current Energy Cost Adjustment and its Renewable Energy Cost Adjustment rate. DME’s standard residential rate for customers using 1,000 kWh will increase from $0.103 to $0.125 which is still 12.6 percent below the average price in the North Texas electricity market. The ECA portion of the rate will increase from $0.038 per kWh to $0.060 per kWh and the RCA will increase from $0.041 per kWh to $0.063 per kWh. A typical household using 1,000 kWh over the course of a billing cycle will most likely see an average increase of $22.00 on the electric portion of it utility bill.

“We hate raising electric rates but the rising cost of the energy we purchase now forces us to take this step,” said Phil Williams, General Manager for DME. “We will, of course, lower rates when our energy costs decrease so that DME’s rates continue to be competitive with the Dallas/Forth Worth electricity market.”

To help manage the cost of the increase to customers, DME advocates using energy conservation measures year round, but especially in the summer months.

“We offer energy efficiency programs to educate our customers on how to minimize energy use and cut down on energy costs,” said Lisa Lemons, Community Relations Manager for Denton Municipal Electric. “During the hot summer months customers need to keep in mind that for every degree they lower their air conditioner, they are potentially increasing their electric bill by three percent per degree.”

DME offers its customers Energy Depot, a free online energy audit service, where customers can fill out a short survey about home or business energy use. After filling out the survey, the customer will receive a detailed energy profile that explains how they are currently using energy in the home or business and how they can lower their usage through energy efficiency measures. Customers can also make an appointment with an energy auditor who can walk through their home or business, do an assessment of their current energy use, and educate the customer on how to become more energy efficient. To access either of these programs, customers can visit this website and click on the Energy Audits icon.

DME determines its ECA rate and RCA rate through its purchase power agreement, the cost of wholesale energy and the cost of renewable energy credits. DME and the PUB review the ECA and RCA rates quarterly.

Source: Denton Municipal Electric

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