As a member of South River EMC, you make an investment in the co-op every month when you pay your bill.

This investment in the co-op benefits you and the community. So what exactly is this investment, and how do you benefit from it?

The grid access charge is a monthly investment that helps your co-op cover the expenses of maintaining the overall electric system. South River EMC has seen increases in all aspects of business, especially materials. This is on top of the growing need for more facilities, which come at a higher cost to provide reliable service to members.

Regardless of how much electricity a particular family uses, the cost of delivering power to that house is the same. As a not-for-profit electric cooperative, we believe the operational costs should be spread fairly and equitably across all of our members, regardless of the level of electricity use. That is why every member pays the grid access charge each month to cover basic operational costs. All members are charged the same amount for the cost of operation since all members benefit from the same service. In essence, this gives each co-op member an equal share in South River EMC’s operation.