Welcome!  Thank you for your interest in learning more about the Wholesale Power Cost Adjustment (WPCA) - what it is and how it impacts your Sawnee EMC power bill each month. We are your trusted energy partner, and part of that role is to educate you about various aspects of your bill, as well as inform you when we need to make modifications to rates. Our staff has assembled this page to address a few questions and offer a place for you to ask more.

What is the WPCA?

The WPCA is a component of our retail rates that we are able to adjust when needed; to account for changes in purchased power (the largest portion of our costs) and other operating costs. It is flexible and allows us to make changes to account for cost pressures, without the lengthy process of permanently changing energy rates, which would be very inefficient and confusing.

The WPCA on each Sawnee electric bill can be an addition or subtraction, dependent upon Sawnee’s cost for generation capacity, the fuels that are used to generate our power and other unforeseen costs such as severe storm damage. Basically, when items increase to a level that is more than what has been budgeted and more than what we are able to recover through the normal retail rate blocks, the WPCA must be adjusted to make up the difference..

Is the WPCA something that is new?

No. The WPCA has been included in Sawnee’s rates for decades. All electric utilities must have a similar billing component like the WPCA that can be adjusted from time to time. Other utilities may refer to this charge as “Fuel” or “Fuel Adjustment” – but it is a necessary component. When looking at the history of this billing factor, there are times it has been lowered, even to the point of $0.00/kWh.

More About the WPCA:

  • Sawnee is a Cooperative and must collect enough revenue to cover all expenses.
  • The WPCA is a mechanism that can increase or decrease, month to month, as needed to keep the budget on track.
  • Think of a budget… the year starts out at a certain level, with certain assumptions, and if those do not go as planned, you must make adjustments to get your budget on track.
  • Prices of the materials we use, like transformers, wire, security lights, breakers, etc. have continued to increase.
  • Natural gas prices are increasing. Natural gas is now used to generate the majority of the electricity that is used in Georgia.
  • We strive to keep rates as low as possible – we are a not-for-profit cooperative which means that all funds collected over and above operating costs goes back to the members through patronage capital.
  • Even with fluctuations in the WPCA, Sawnee EMC rates remain amongst the best in Georgia, and our reliability is one of the best in entire country.

What measures can I take to manage my usage?

Conserve energy!  Things you can do… Set your thermostat to what experts recommended – 78 in the summer and 68 in the winter, insulate your water heater; repair leaking hot water faucets; turn off lights, etc... There are many other things you can do to conserve energy. We also offer a billing program called “budget billing” that spreads the cost of your monthly bill out over a long period of time and, if you need to pay your bill later, we offer arrangements. We also offer “energy alerts” and “billing alerts”. Other energy-saving links include:

Questions:

Questions and comments can be directed to our Customer Call Center at 770-887-2363 or email at customerservice@sawnee.coop.

As your cooperative, we are committed to minimizing the impact of increasing power costs on your household. We are proud to be your energy provider and are proud to serve your electric energy needs.