About Your Bill...

 View a Sample Bill

Have you ever wondered what all the information on your electric bill means?  Although the bills are designed to be easy to read, we understand some of it may be a bit confusing, so we thought it would be helpful to copy a typical bill and highlight different parts of it.

Please match up the numbers listed on the bill with the corresponding explanation.

#1 Co-op Bulletin Board – Watch this area for meeting and CWEC updates.
#2 Account Information – General information regarding your account and current billing information such as days included in this billing cycle, past & present readings, usage and type of service, i.e. residential.
#3 Activity Since Last Bill – Shows previous balance, payments, adjustments (if any) and carry over balance (again if any).
#4 Usage History - Here you will find a listing of your last 13 months usage along with a current month comparison to the previous year.
#5 Current Bill Information - For a detailed description of these charges please see below. 
#6 Payment Coupon – Please return this portion with your payment.

Current Bill Information Components

This is the meat and potatoes of the bill.  Included here is a breakdown of all the charges associated with this month’s bill.  Included in this section you’ll find energy charge, facility charge, PCA, public benefit, roundup amount, total current balance due and due date.

The first item listed is your Energy Charge which is the amount of electricity used in KWH times the rate. 

The next item listed is your Facility Charge.  Simply put, this charge helps cover the costs that are necessary to deliver electricity to your property.  Items included in the facility charge are poles, brushing & tree trimming, conductors, transformers, outage coverage, protective devices, and other structures required.  Additional items are sending billing statements, meter expenses, general office expense, and insurance.  For most members this amount is either $27. 
Listed next is PCA which is short for Power Cost Adjustment.  We are a distribution co-op which means we purchase the electricity we provide to our members.  Currently we purchase it from Alliant Energy.  When we negotiate the price it is based off of a range of their production costs and when those deviate from that range a PCA charge or credit is assessed.  This charge or credit is then passed on to our members based off of usage.  This amount can fluctuate monthly.

Public Benefits is another charge you’ll see.  This state mandated charge of a $1.67 per month is used to generate monies for low income assistance and energy conservation.  As a member you are welcome to apply for either portion.  For more information regarding Public Benefit eligibility requirements please contact us.

If you contract with us for an outdoor light it will be listed next. 

For those members who participate in Operation Roundup their monthly contribution is listed as Roundup Amount.  Operation Roundup is a member funded program that provides monies for charitable and educational purposes.  To date over $240,000 has been donated to worthwhile causes.  We thank all of you who participate in this wonderful program.

The final item listed here is the total of all of the items just described.