Last month I reported to you the total year-end credits issued to members in 2022. Those credits were generated via capital credit refunds and wholesale power cost adjustment (WPCA) credits. In that article I mentioned that the WPCA had been a credit since March 2020.

In 2022, the average monthly credit was -0.2631¢ per kilowatt hour (kWh) sold, ranging from a high of -0.527¢ in August to a low of -0.135¢ in June. As we entered the New Year, the WPCA remained a credit of -0.156¢ for all bills rendered in January. That generated a $52,817.40 credit to the membership.

Due to several factors impacting both domestic and global energy markets and our own wholesale cost for power, the WPCA reverted back to a charge on Feb. 1, 2023, with a billed adjustment of 0.156¢ per kWh. At this time we expect the WPCA to remain a charge for the better part of 2023.

Thanks to wise financial management by our generation and transmission provider, North Carolina Electric Membership Corporation, Tideland was somewhat isolated from earlier fluctuations in the natural gas market. Understandably, however, the Dec. 23-26, 2022, unusually cold weather resulted in energy supplies exceeding our historical average need at a time when much of the nation was in the grip of cold temperatures.

The last period of time that we billed the WPCA as a charge was from April 2017 through Feb. 2020 in response to increased long run cost pressure from planned coal ash mitigation measures.

While we anticipate our WPCA to remain a charge in 2023, our cost pressure at this time is primarily driver by weather events and short periods of high demand for heating and/or cooling.

Based on Tidelanders’ average monthly energy use of 1,080 kWh, a WPCA factor of 0.156¢ would result in a $1.68 charge above our base published rate. There are several steps you can take to more than offset that additional expense.

Here are some suggestions:

• Lower your water heater thermostat setting to 120°
• Reduce your home heating thermostat setting by 1°-2°
• During the cooling season, rely more on fans when you are home so you can raise your thermostat setting
• Choose appropriate refrigeration settings of 0° for your freezer compartment and 40° for the refrigerator compartment
• Opt for water and energy saving showers over baths
• Hang clothes to dry and when you do use the dryer clean the lint filter and use the moisture-sensing option to reduce overall drying times.

As always, we are here to help you keep energy purchases both efficient and affordable.