Providing safe, reliable, and affordable energy.

Security standards (specifically, the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards) prohibit our member service representatives from taking your credit card information over the phone. These standards are designed to ensure companies who accept, process, store or transmit credit card information maintain a secure environment. Because we record our phone calls for quality assurance, we are no longer able to accept credit card payments in this way. Be assured, however, there are many other ways to pay your bill including by mail; automated telephone system; online; in person; night drop-boxes located at Newark and Utica locations; and at your local bank.

Both the Facilities Fee and Distribution Charge include the fixed cost of running the Cooperative, such as meter reading, billing, record keeping, replacing poles, power lines, and other equipment. This is also the cost to distribute electric to Cooperative members. This facilities fee will be applied each month, even though you may not consume natural gas or electric.

The Energy Cooperative offers budget billing which allows your monthly utility costs to remain constant throughout the entire year. Please note the following:

• The account must be paid in full to qualify.
• The budget accounts are reviewed during the month of March and September. During this review, your budget amount may be increased or decreased depending on your usage.

Propane prices are driven primarily by the supply and demand of crude oil, which increased in price nearly 50% this year. This price increase combined with an Ohio winter that was much colder than the previous two years likely led to a noticeable increase in your propane bill. Your propane rate is calculated based on your usage from the previous year. This year, both the price for propane and the amount used by our members went up.

The Energy Cooperative is continually evaluating its cost to serve our members. This includes identifying the total revenues needed to operate, which fluctuate depending on the amount of energy used and the cost of generation, transmission, and delivery. Estimating the amount of energy that members use enables the Cooperative to determine what rates should be. Rates are reviewed annually. By monitoring our controllable expenses, we are able to provide affordable and reliable energy with cost-based rates.