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Bluebonnet Lowers Cost of Power for Second Time in Six Months
4/2/2012 10:10:03 AM
For Immediate Release: Contact: Will Holford, 512-289-5982
Monday, April 02, 2012 Janet Wilson, 512-750-5483
Bluebonnet Lowers Cost of Power for Second Time in Six Months
Bastrop – For the second time in six months Bluebonnet Electric Cooperative lowered the cost of power for its members. The half-cent reduction to the fuels portion of Bluebonnet’s electric rate is due to continued low prices for natural gas, which is the fuel used to generate about half of the electricity in Texas.
Bluebonnet members who use 1,000 kilowatt hours per month will pay about $104, down from about $109.
“Our members have really benefitted this year from low natural gas prices and mild winter weather,” said Mark Rose, Bluebonnet’s general manager. “This is welcome relief after last year’s unusually dry, hot summer. But we all know Texas weather can change in an instant. We encourage our members to monitor their energy use through the Net Energy Market on our website. It’s a great way to know how much electricity you’re using and how much it’s costing you.”
The Net Energy Market is a powerful online tool available to all Bluebonnet members, from a home or small business to the largest industrial user. It enables members to see their energy use on an hourly, daily or monthly basis, their cost-to-date and what their electric bill is projected to be. With this information members can potentially reduce their energy use and save money. Bluebonnet members can login to the Net Energy Market at www.bluebonnetelectric.coop.
Bluebonnet buys 90 percent of its power from the Lower Colorado River Authority and 10 percent from CPS Energy, San Antonio’s municipally owned utility. As fuel prices fluctuate, particularly natural gas, Bluebonnet passes the cost savings or increases to its member through its wholesale power cost, which is one of the components that make up its members’ electric bills. The other components of the bill – the member service charge, the distribution rate and the base wholesale rate – stay constant.
Bluebonnet Electric Cooperative is one of the largest electric cooperatives in Texas and has been serving its members since 1939. Bluebonnet serves more than 81,000 meters and owns and maintains 11,000 miles of power lines, located across more than 3,800 square miles within 14 Central Texas counties. Bluebonnet’s service area stretches from Travis County to Washington County, and from Milam County down to Gonzales County. For more information about Bluebonnet Electric Cooperative, go to www.bluebonnetelectric.coop and follow the co-op on Facebook, Twitter and The Bluebonnet Blog at blog.bluebonnetelectric.com.
