Homer electric members get a small break while Interior faces a big spike

A Homer Electric Association residential member using 550 kilowatt-hours a month is paying about $3.30 less for power since July 1. The cooperative lowered its Cost of Power Adjustment — the quarterly, pass-through piece of a Railbelt electric bill that covers fuel and purchased power — by 5.5%, from 10.922 to 10.323 cents per kilowatt-hour.

The break stands in sharp contrast to what's happening in the Interior. Golden Valley Electric Association has filed to raise its own cost-of-power surcharge 62% effective June 1, from 12.779 to 20.652 cents per kilowatt-hour, a proposal the Regulatory Commission of Alaska will review. Matanuska Electric members, meanwhile, saw base rates hold and their COPA dip slightly.

HEA's rate has moved every quarter this year — down 14.8% on Jan. 1 (the same day a 4% base rate increase took effect), up again April 1, and now down. The cooperative attributed this quarter's decrease largely to spending far fewer hours "islanding" in the second quarter — running its system on its own, disconnected from the larger grid. Staying connected reduces the reserves HEA must carry and removes the need to run the Nikiski Combined Cycle plant at minimum load. Stronger-than-expected sales earlier in the year also lowered the per-kilowatt-hour cost of fixed pieces of the charge, chiefly Bradley Lake hydropower.

Those savings partly offset higher gas costs taking effect this quarter, and are being passed to members immediately.