How to Read My Bill

The price you pay for energy is only part of the cost of operating an electric system. It is necessary to add a customer charge to pay for  fixed costs (costs that do not depend on the amount of electricity used) such as meters and meter reading, right-of-way clearing, system maintenance,  and other costs involved in bringing power to your home.

The customer charge has always been included in the bills of VEC customers.
It  has historically been bundled with the energy charge on the customer  bill. However, in the interest of full disclosure, we have made the decision to itemize this charge on the bills.

Approximately 80¢ out of every $1 collected by VEC is paid to TVA to purchase power.  Unlike many municipal systems or investor-owned utilities, VEC is a non-profit cooperative; excess revenues that are generated are returned to the system in the form of upgrades and maintenance. The revenues taken in by VEC are not used to generate profits.

It is true  that customers are burdened today with rising costs for energy in all forms. VEC works very hard as an advocate for the customers with TVA and state and federal legislators so that costs can be held as steady as possible.

What is the Fuel Cost Adjustment? Since January 2007, Volunteer Energy Cooperative (VEC) customer bills have included a separate Fuel Cost  Adjustment, a pass-through charge from the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA). VEC does not receive any of the FCA charges. The funds collected through the FCA go directly to TVA.

For more information, check out the TVA Fuel Cost page.