Utility’s users question rates, efficiencies

Letter to the Editor:

As of March 24, United Electric Cooperative rates have increased significantly.

Our service availability rates for residential meters have increased almost 50 percent — from $1.05 to 1.50/day. Rate 2 Non-residential (which includes grain bin sites and well sites away from the farmstead) have increased almost 100 percent — from $1.05 to $2.

United Electric Cooperative of Savannah and Maryville already had the highest priced rates in the state of Missouri for service availability, per KWH used, and security lights, even higher than in the Ozarks where it seems the terrain would make their expenses of providing and maintaining lines higher.

Recently we had a meter pole replaced at our grain bin site at our expense. It took five men and three trucks for a job that an outside company used two men for to replace line poles in the area (and I assume they didn’t have the luxury of turning off the electricity as they did at the grain bins.)

Can things be done more efficiently?

The cooperative philosophy has always been that “we are all in this together.” With this higher rate increase for rate 2-nonresidential users (mainly farmers), it seems that is no longer the case.

Rural electric cooperatives are not required to prove need to raise rates to a commission as public utilities are.

Is this cooperative’s board of directors supposed to act as a preventive to unneeded rate hikes and wasteful spending?

Is it doing that?

Do more of the members need to speak up?

Can anything be done?

Don and Ruth Adwell

Ravenwood, MO