(Gonzales) — GVEC is reassuring its customers about how it plans to handle electric bills moving forward.
The GVEC Board of Directors held its regular meeting yesterday. The board announced that GVEC members will not see an electric rate increase at this time. But members should anticipate higher than normal electric bills for the month of February that will be received in March.
GVEC officials say the winter weather that much of Texas experienced last week brought unprecedented conditions not seen in our region for over 30 years. Temperatures around the area dropped to below freezing for consecutive days, often dipping into teens and even single digits. Those extreme temperatures often caused central heating systems to operate in an emergency heating mode.
GVEC Senior Executive Manager Graham Hauptman says the emergency heating is used when the more efficient heat pump cannot deliver the level of heating being requested inside the home. He says this causes the unit to use the auxiliary electric heating strips, which require significant amounts of energy to operate.
Although GVEC will not raise rates at this time, officials say that electric members should anticipate increased February electric usage to translate to higher March bills-in many cases much higher than usual for this time of year.
GVEC General Manager and CEO Darren Schauer says the exact impact of last week’s weather on the Cooperative’s power supply costs is still being determined. He says while costs were much greater than could have been anticipated to meet the extreme power usage during this time, GVEC’s financial strength and active hedging programs will mean that Cooperative members will not see dramatic increases in their electric bills. He says there likely will be adjustments that are necessary in the coming months, but he says GVEC will make sure that the increases are minimal and manageable for their members.
For members who experience financial hardship due to February’s higher electric bills, they are encouraged to call GVEC at 800.223.4832 to discuss payment arrangements or other tools and resources to assist during this time.