EC’s side of the story

To The Editor,

At LCEC, we are proud of the job that we do representing the best interests of our customer/ members. For more than 68 years, employees and board members have been committed to working hard to provide the most efficient and reliable

electric service possible at competitive rates. You would be hard-pressed to find an LCEC team member who doesn’t go above and beyond to do what is right for our customers. We also take our fiduciary responsibilities very seriously, which enables us to secure the financing needed to maintain and operate the system at reasonable rates.

LCEC is a distribution cooperative and relies on a power generating utility as the source of electricity for customers. Customers are only billed for the electricity that they have already used and the price they pay as a portion of their bill is the same price that LCEC pays to the power supplier, which is currently Seminole Electric Cooperative. There is no mark-up on the cost of purchased power. LCEC only changes the Power Cost Adjustment (PCA) in response to increases or decreases in our power supplier prices. Power supplier costs are based on fuel prices and other costs associated with generating power.

Power generating utilities utilize various types of fuel such as coal, natural gas, nuclear or renewable energy. Depending on the prices of the particular

fuels they use, costs go up or down. Seminole Electric generates most of their power from coal. Because several of Seminole’s long-term agreements with favorable prices have expired, coal and associated rail transportation costs have increased significantly and Seminole electricity prices will increase.

Generating utilities that rely heavily on natural gas to fuel their power plants , such as FPL, are currently benefiting from lower natural gas prices more than those relying more heavily on other fuel sources.

A little more than 70 percent of an LCEC customer’s bill is attributed to power costs. LCEC employees and trustees are tasked with managing the expenses that make up the rest of the bill, which also includes property taxes, interest payments and margins required by lenders.

Controlling these expenses includes, but goes beyond cost-cutting measures. We also strive to improve processes and capitalize on efficiencies while providing the quality service our customers

have come to expect. At the same time, we consider it critical to collect payment for the electricity that a customer has used so that other customers do not bear the burden of these costs.

These are just some of the reasons LCEC rates remain among the lowest in the state.

Members have input in how the business is run by electing the board of trustees, who set policies and have financial oversight responsibility, through the annual election process. Members are invited to share feedback, ask questions and voice concerns at any time. There is always an LCEC team member willing to listen.

Mr. Barrett himself has made or received more than 60 personal calls or letters from LCEC this year alone.

Your cooperative has remained financially stable since its incorporation in 1940. Customers have trusted employees and trustees, familiar with the complex utility business, to make solid business decisions and represent them in the best possible way.

We appreciate our customers’ support and we will continue to dedicate ourselves to providing reliable, efficient electricity at the best possible rate.

Customers with questions or concerns can voice them at lcecpr@lcec.net.



Karen Ryan

LCEC

North Fort Myers

Ryan is director of

public relations at LCEC