GVEA's fuel charge drops 12.6%, reversing about a third of June's increase

Golden Valley Electric Association cut its fuel charge 12.6 percent Tuesday, taking about $15 a month off the bill of a residential member using the co-op's average of 581 kilowatt-hours.

The charge covers what GVEA spends on fuel to generate power and on electricity bought from other utilities, and it fell from 20.652 to 18.049 cents per kilowatt-hour. The co-op resets it every quarter, using projected costs for the coming three months and actual costs from the last three. The new rate holds through November.

It is one line on the bill. GVEA's full residential rate is about 34.6 cents per kilowatt-hour, plus a $22.50 monthly customer charge.

The cut gives back part of what members absorbed this summer. The same charge jumped from 12.779 cents on June 1, an increase of about 61 percent that added nearly $46 to the average monthly bill.

Fuel prices have since stabilized, the co-op said, but two unplanned outages between June and August forced it to burn more diesel and less coal than planned. Healy Unit 1 was down 12 days, and the North Pole Combined Cycle Plant was down 28 days for repairs to its steam side. Those costs are baked into the new rate and are the main reason it did not fall further. Higher-than-expected energy sales helped, spreading costs across more kilowatt-hours.

Two more outages are already scheduled: Healy Unit 2 offline about 27 days this fall, and North Pole GT-1 about 40 days for a major overhaul.

The Interior has little ability to buy its way out. GVEA has been unable to purchase power over the transmission lines connecting it to Southcentral, except in emergencies, since February 2024. CEO Travis Million wrote in September that low-cost natural gas energy from the Anchorage area "has dwindled to nearly nothing."

Sen. Robert Myers, at a June press conference, said "Fairbanks is already living South Central's future."

Members who cannot pay their bills can call GVEA at 907-452-1151 to arrange payment.