Facility Charge: $0.90/day
Palmetto Electric’s facility charge covers approximately half of the distribution costs associated with providing electricity to our members' homes and businesses and includes equipment, materials, labor and operating costs necessary to serve each meter in Palmetto Electric’s service territory, regardless of the amount of energy used.
Beginning with the March 2024 bills, the facility charge for residential and small commercial accounts will increase from a set monthly charge of $17 (averaging $0.56 per day), to a daily charge of $0.90 per day, averaging $27 per month. The monthly outdoor lighting charge for residential and commercial members who participate in the outdoor lighting program will also increase in March. These changes will amount to a 7 percent increase for the average member's total bill.
2024 Facility Charge & Outdoor Lighting Increase Q & A
Q – 1. What is the monthly facility charge? The facility charge covers approximately half of the distribution costs associated with providing electricity to homes and businesses including equipment, materials, labor, and operating costs necessary to serve each member in Palmetto Electric’s service territory, regardless of an individual member’s electric consumption. Distribution costs account for approximately one-third of the overall bill.
Q – 2. Why are the monthly facility and outdoor lighting charges changing? The facilities and outdoor lighting charges are changing to more fairly recover the costs of delivering reliable electricity to Palmetto Electric’s members. Like many other industries, in recent years, Palmetto Electric has experienced supply chain issues and steep cost increases for some of our necessary equipment needed to maintain the local system, including power lines, substations and outdoor lighting.
Q – 3. Why increase the facility charge now? Due to supply chain issues and rising costs of materials and equipment over the last few years, these changes are necessary to continue providing dependable and reliable power to our members. We have been fortunate at Palmetto Electric to not have any rate increases over the past ten years. Since 2008, any increases to the facility charge have been made in phases. We increased from $8 to $12 in 2008, to $16 in 2012, to $17 in 2014, and now to a daily rate of $0.90/day, averaging $27/month in 2024.
Q – 4. Which accounts will this impact? Beginning in March 2024, the facility charge will increase for residential and small commercial accounts. Outdoor lighting charges will increase for any account with outdoor lighting, beginning in March 2024.
Q – 5. What will the new charge be? When will this take place? Beginning with March 2024 bills, the facility charge for residential and small commercial accounts will increase from a set monthly charge of $17 (averaging $0.56 per day), to a daily charge of $0.90 per day, averaging $27 per month. The monthly outdoor lighting charge for residential and commercial accounts who participate in the outdoor lighting program will also increase. These changes will amount to an approximate 7 percent increase for the average member.
Q – 6. What can our members do to save on energy costs? We are keenly aware of the burden that rising charges may place on our members. We want to help you minimize the impact of these rising costs by providing energy-saving tips on how you can be as efficient as possible. The largest component of your monthly bill is the cost of energy, which is based on how much kWh is consumed and accounts for approximately two-thirds of the overall bill. Energy consumption is an area that members have some control over, so we have provided several tools online at palmetto.coop to help you manage and reduce energy use.
Read and Download the Facility Charge and Outdoor Lighting Q&A
A power cost adjustment factor appears on the bills and will allow Palmetto Electric to track fluctuating wholesale power costs. The power cost adjustment is calculated by multiplying the total kWh usage by the corresponding month’s power cost factor.
The current power cost factor is 0.002439-
Palmetto Electric is a non-profit member-owned distribution electric cooperative. The power we purchase is generated by Santee Cooper. Palmetto Electric’s wholesale power costs represent about two-thirds of our total charges.
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Power Cost Factors
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Understanding your energy bill can help you better manage your energy usage and could aid you in saving money.
Your monthly bill is divided into several sections. There is a monthly kWh energy graph for the current month and the previous 12 months, a billing and payment summary, an account summary, a summary of applicable charges, and a section for important account messages.
For more account information such as average, high, and low temperatures, heating degree days, cooling degree days and other weather-related details, visit MyEnergy Online and login to view the My Usage tab and select Usage History.
The following formula is used to calculate your monthly electric bill:
Facility Charge + (kWh used x rate) + (kWh used x Power Cost Factor*)
*Power Cost (shown on bill) fluctuates monthly and can be a positive or a negative number.
Example: A homeowner who used 1,000 kWh during March 2024 would calculate their bill as follows:
(0.90 x 31 days) + (1,000 kWh x 10.890¢) + (1,000 kWh x – 0.007206)
(27.90) + (108.90) + (-7.21)
$129.59
**Any taxes, franchise fees, and additional charges, (i.e., Outdoor Lights, Surge Guard, CHAMP) must be added to the above example.