As another summer begins to wind down, I’d like to start by thanking everyone who joined us for our 82nd Annual Meeting. Whether you attended for the meal, visiting with neighbors, exercising your right to vote for your board representatives, or simply to learn more about your cooperative, your participation is what makes the cooperative business model unique. Clay Electric belongs to its members, and your involvement helps guide the future of the cooperative. Thank you for taking the time to be a part of that tradition.
One of the responsibilities of your board of directors and management team is ensuring that the cooperative remains financially healthy while continuing to provide safe, reliable and exceptional service to our member-owners. Sometimes that means making difficult decisions that we know will affect our members’ monthly bills.
This month, I want to explain an important change involving the Power Cost Adjustment, or PCA.
Many of you will remember that last year we introduced a Power Cost Adjustment on your bill. Prior to that, Clay Electric absorbed the entire monthly PCA charged to us by our wholesale power supplier, Southern Illinois Power Cooperative (SIPC). Beginning on the November 2025 bill, members began paying only one-half of that monthly adjustment while the cooperative continued absorbing the remaining half.
Beginning with the September bill for August usage, Clay Electric will move to a full pass-through of SIPC’s monthly Power Cost Adjustment. In simple terms, instead of recovering only half of the monthly PCA from members, the cooperative will recover the full amount charged to us by our wholesale power supplier. This change affects only the PCA portion of your bill. It does not increase the energy portion of your bill or change the cooperative’s base energy rates. The calculation is straightforward: billed kilowatt-hours multiplied by the monthly PCA factor.
Why are we making this change?
The cooperative has absorbed half of these wholesale power costs for nearly a year in an effort to lessen the immediate impact on our members. While that approach helped, it is not sustainable over the long term. As a not-for-profit cooperative, our responsibility is to recover the actual cost of providing electric service while maintaining the financial strength necessary to continue investing in the system our members depend upon every day.
The Power Cost Adjustment is not a fixed fee. It reflects changes in the actual cost of wholesale power purchased by SIPC. When wholesale costs increase, the PCA increases. When wholesale costs decrease, the PCA decreases. If wholesale power costs fall, the PCA can also decrease or even become a credit. It is designed to move with actual wholesale costs rather than requiring repeated adjustments to permanent base rates.
We know no one enjoys hearing about a bill increase, and we don’t take that lightly. That’s why we believe it’s important to explain this change before it appears on your bill. If you ever have questions about your bill, our staff is always happy to help explain the charges.
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Our forestry crew will continue working this month to improve system reliability by clearing vegetation from rights-of-way in the Iola area. Their work area is highlighted on the accompanying map.
As always, don’t forget to search for your member number in the center section of this magazine. Three lucky numbers are hidden each month in Clay Electric News. If you find yours and give us a call, you’ll receive a $5 credit on your next electric bill.
Thank you for your continued trust in Clay Electric Co-operative.