Financial projections for 2025 show a steady climb in power supply cost due to the increasing cost for power generation, transmission, and an overall rise in demand. Due to increasing cost, CCEC members will have a Wholesale Power Cost Adjustment (WPCA) charge of $1.00 per 1,000 kWh beginning Jan. 1. 

As a not-for-profit electric utility, Carteret-Craven Electric Cooperative (CCEC) is committed to delivering reliable, cost-effective power to our members. CCEC purchases electricity each month from our power supplier, North Carolina Electric Membership Corporation, at a wholesale cost to meet the needs of our members. The cost of wholesale power is a significant expense of providing electric service to the homes and businesses we serve.

What is the WPCA?

You may have noticed the Wholesale Power Cost Adjustment (WPCA) line item on your monthly bill. The WPCA provides a monthly adjustment dependent on any differences in the base cost of wholesale power.
If the kilowatt-hour cost to CCEC is lower than the base cost of power, the WPCA is applied as a credit on your bill. If the kilowatt-hour cost is higher than the base cost of power, the WPCA is applied as a charge. Having the WPCA benefits members by covering monthly power cost fluctuations without having to continually restructure electricity rates.                          
The WPCA changes based on the cost of wholesale power, which fluctuates for a variety of reasons. During extreme weather when the demand for electricity is much higher, power may need to be purchased from more expensive sources at market price, which includes additional generation costs. Increased costs for fuels like natural gas also impact the price of wholesale power. 

The WPCA a direct pass through of the cost associated with reliably serving you the electricity you need. The average residential member will see their bill increase by less than $2.00. This is the first WPCA charge that the co-op has implemented since 2019. 

Mitigating cost changes

In developing the 2025 budget, co-op employees and board of directors worked to reduce expenses and mitigate cost changes as much as possible. 

By using cooperative buying power to make bulk purchases with other North Carolina co-ops through Tarheel Electric Membership Cooperation (TEMA), we have been able to reduce some material cost increases.

The co-op uses a diverse mix of fuel sources for electricity, which also helps reduce costs. CCEC’s electricity is generated from nuclear (54%), natural gas (22%),  purchases (9%), renewables (8%), coal (5%), and hydro (2%). This balanced fuel mix helps reduce dramatic fluctuations in generation costs. 

Energy saving programs

CCEC has several rates and programs to help members reduce their electric bills. 

• CCEC’s time-of-use (TOU) rates gives you the potential to save money by using less energy when demand for electricity is high, or during on-peak hours. Alternately, this rate plan encourages you to shift your use of electricity to when demand is low, or during off-peak hours, by paying less per kilowatt hour (kWh) than our standard energy usage charge. Visit ccemc.com/TOU for more information.
• Members can take advantage of a free energy audit. Understanding how your home uses energy can help determine the best ways to adjust energy consumption, improve problem areas and ultimately keep more money in your wallet. Request an audit by completing the form at ccemc.com/ContactUs.

For additional information on these and other programs, visit ccemc.com/MyHome.