In the May 2020 issue of the Pee Dee Hi-Lite, I announced that the planned rate increase for members would be postponed due to the challenges presented by the Covid-19 pandemic and the potential impacts that would be placed on our members. Postponing the rate increase was definitely the right decision for our members, our cooperative and our community. By working together and finding new ways to take care of each other, we were able to overcome many of the challenges the pandemic placed upon us during a critical and uncertain time. I am proud of the unity, resolve and strength of the shared response throughout our community.

Providing affordable and reliable power is at the heart of everything we do. As your local power partner, Pee Dee Electric is committed to providing the high-quality electric service and support that you count on. We have worked diligently to control costs through operational efficiencies and numerous cost cutting measures.

The cooperative has begun the first step necessary to implement a rate adjustment in the Fall of 2022 by contracting with a third-party consultant to perform an independent cost-of-service study. The purpose of the study is to identify future revenue requirements, allocate costs to our different rate classes based on the service, equipment and infrastructure required to serve them.

Fortunately, the cooperative has not had a rate adjustment in five years, but we have reached the point we must perform this study and consider a rate adjustment to ensure we maintain a financially sound organization and meet the financial requirements of our lenders.

As we all experience the impacts of rising costs, whether at the grocery store or the gas pump, we want our members to know that the decision to implement the future increase was not entered into lightly. In an ideal world, expenses would never go up, but the reality is that costs sometimes change and rarely do they go down.

As a not-for-profit electric cooperative, Pee Dee Electric was formed to meet the needs of you, our members. To assist our members in controlling energy costs, your cooperative continues to communicate numerous energy saving tips through social media, our web site and our monthly newsletter. I encourage you to also utilize our customer service portal on our website and through our mobile app. The daily power usage information available through these tools will help you better understand how you are using electricity and identify areas you can reduce your usage, thus reducing your electric bill.