A reality based independent journal of observation & analysis, serving the Flathead Valley & Montana since 2006. © James Conner.

18 May 2015

Flathead Electric residential rates up 20 percent since 2010

It’s now become an unfailing rite of spring: the Flathead Electric Cooperative’s May bill contains a letter announcing that commencing 1 May, new and higher rates took effect. This year the overall increase is 2.6 percent.

Flathead Electric does not post historical electrical rates, although it could and should. Flathead Memo, however, does keep track of this information, which is presented in the table below:

FEC’s annual increases are a passthrough of increases in the wholesale prices FEC pays for electricity.

The true cost per kilowatt hour for residential customers — the amount billed divided by the number of kilowatt hours used — is significantly higher than the per kWhr rates in the table above. That’s because FEC’s base rate is high. I’ll have more on true costs per kWhr later this week.