By BECKY KISER
Hays Post
"I just want to get it down as low as possible."
That was the comment of one attendee, and others agreed, during Thursday's presentation at the Hays Senior Center about Midwest Energy's new rate structure for residential customers.
Two previous components - a monthly customer charge, and an energy charge based on the number of kilowatt hours used - remain unchanged. There is now a new third component, a demand charge.
Demand rates are already in place for commercial customers.
Justin Macdonald, vice-president of customer service at Midwest Energy, Hays, spoke to the crowd about how to keep the demand charge low.
A demand charge is not unusual. Several electric companies in Kansas have already implemented one, as well as companies in other states.
Midwest Energy is a customer cooperative, "so this is revenue neutral. There is no intention to either raise rates or lower rates," Macdonald pointed out.
Demand refers to the amount of electrical power being used at a given time. Demand charges will be a monthly charge based on “peak demand,” or the maximum number of kilowatts a customer used in an hour, measured in 15-minute increments.
In the summer months of June 1 through September 30, when it's hot and cooling devices are in high use, demand would be billed based on peak demand between 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. That's when the heat of the day is the hottest - the air conditioning is cranked up - and most households are using appliances to prepare supper, running the dishwasher afterwards, and throwing in a load of laundry.
The rest of the year - October through May - the billed demand would be based on whenever peak demand was reached during each month.
Macdonald talked to the senior center crowd about why the rate changed in January, bill impacts, and steps customers can take to save money on their energy bills.
Bottom line, the change which occurs over four years, will "lower costs for all of us," Macdonald told the audience and it will "result in no overall increase for the average customer."
The goal is to spread out the peak uses, smoothing out the highest potential demand from all customers.
The presentation to older adults included several suggestions on how to lower the peak demand charge.
"When in doubt, spread it out," Macdonald repeated several times during his 30-minute presentation. By spreading out the use of large electrical appliances throughout the day, you can decrease your demand charge.
Comparisons of kW use by major appliances were reviewed.
Macdonald told one attendee the use of his microwave at 7 p.m. each day for popcorn would be negligible. Another senior asked about the kW reduction if he used an air fryer instead of his oven or microwave. "I honestly don't know," Macdonald admitted, and he told the customer he would research air fryers and get back to him personally with an answer.
All audience members were invited to sign up for a free estimation of how their Midwest Energy bills will change over the next four years.
Most residential customers' bills are expected to change minimally, either going up slightly, or even reducing a small amount.
It's costly to build and maintain the electrical grid for the biggest use - or stress - placed on it for that short time during the year.
"By decreasing demand, we can eventually lower the cooperative's capacity for the electrical system, resulting in lower costs for all customers in the future," Macdonald explained.
Although the change was effective at the first of the year, during all of 2023, there is a $0 demand charge levied to allow residential customers to get a better understanding of demand charges and bill impacts.
Unchanged is the $28 monthly customer charge.
The energy charge is variable based on the amount of kilowatt hours used during any month. As demand charges phase in over four years, the energy charge will reduce each year.
Macdonald said energy charges are projected to from 7.8¢ today to 4.2¢ per kWh by 2026, making the changes revenue-neutral for Midwest Energy customers.
You can view your actual demand by logging into the Midwest Energy CustomerConnect portal. To access CustomerConnect, visit www.mwenergy.com, log-in to your Midwest Energy account and click the house icon in the upper right of the screen.
For more information about demand and demand rates, and tips on how to reduce your demand visit the demand rates page.
Macdonald and two other senior Midwest Energy employees are in the midst of visiting more than 50 communities in the electric/gas company's service area to explain the changes, more importantly, answer questions from customers.
In the next few days, Midwest Energy will make the following similar presentations:
May 30-Goodland, 10 a.m. at Goodland Senior Center
June 1-Victoria, 10 a.m. at Victoria High School Cafeteria
June 6-St. John, 10 a.m. at Goodman Library
June 6-Great Bend, 11:30 a.m. at Great Bend Senior Center