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In 2022, EIEC began an extensive cost of service and rate study. That study showed us that while the cooperative was doing okay financially, we weren't quite collecting enough to properly maintain our distribution system. It further showed that a 2.5 percent rate increase was necessary to maintain system reliability and help cover the rising costs we've all seen in recent years. As we continued analysis, we determined that many of our fixed costs were being collected through kWh sales. If we have a milder summer or winter, our kWh sales could drop and could lead to reliability issues with our service. After all options were considered, the EIEC Board of Directors decided that our rate structure needed to be adjusted to ensure these fixed costs are met.
Our new rate structure consists of 3 major changes. First, there will be an increase in the base charge of most rates. Second, we will be adding a demand component to our bill. Demand refers to the maximum amount of power (measured in kilowatts or kW) that is being consumed at a specific time. It is related to, but different than, kWh, which is the amount of power used over a period of time. EIEC will be measuring each member's demand every 15 minutes and the highest demand value of each month will be factor used to charge you for your demand each month. Lastly, since we are making demand its own charge, we will be lowering our kWh charge. We anticipate most members that are on our general single phase service (80% of our members) will see a 2-3% increase on their bill. These changes will be effective on your April bill for your March usage.
If you would like more information on our new rate restructuring or how to manage your demand, please visit the links below.
https://www.eiec.org/2024-rate-restructuring
https://www.eiec.org/demand-information
If you have questions about the new rate structure or would like to know how it will impact you, please call us at 800-824-5102 or email us at info@eiec.coop
Eastern Illini Electric Cooperative will be changing the rate structure for members of the cooperative in March of 2024. We want to invite members to an informational meeting that provides background details, explains the new rates, and answers questions. Please join us for any one of these six meetings being held throughout our service territory.
Eastern Illini has begun replacing meters throughout our service territory. The installation of new meters began in Iroquois County and will continue until all meters have been replaced. The goal is to have all the new meters in place by the end of 2023.
Members will be notified in advance that the new meters are being replaced. A meter installation technician will knock on the door of members’ homes to inform residence the new meter is being installed. Members don’t need to be home for the installation. If members aren’t home, a hang tag will be left on the door. Members need not do anything in advance of the new meter installation. After the installation, members may need to reset the clock on their microwave if it is blinking. Most meters are located outdoors, so the technician will remove the old meter and install the new meter in a matter of less than 30 minutes.
According to Brad Smith, Vice President of Operations and Engineering, the new meters are part of Eastern Illini’s on-going commitment to responsiveness and reliability. These meters are an investment in our distribution system and future automation. Paul Crutcher, Eastern Illini Engineer and project manager for the new meter installation project, shared that automation and other distribution system intelligence has the ability to integrate with other sensors, such as fault indicators. By incorporating this additional information, Eastern Illini will have enhanced troubleshooting capabilities during outages and the end result is faster restoration times.
Mark Slagel, Strawn, has been elected to the Eastern Illini Electric Cooperative Board of Directors. Slagel was elected by co-op members at the Annual Meeting events in June. He will be the Directorate District 2, a seat previously held by Tom Schlatter, Chatsworth, since 2006. Slagel is President of Slagel Manufacturing and farms with his brothers. Slagel has served on the Strawn Fire Department, Prairie Central School Board and is a member of the Fairbury First Baptist Church and Prairie Central Athletic Boosters. Slagel and his wife, Suzanne, have four children.