The General Manager of Tri-County Electric Luke Johnson says no electric rate increases are on the way to their members this year. Johnson addressed the issue after Ameren announced their cost of energy for the upcoming summer months would be 50-percent more than last year.
“Rates are stable and we have our contract with SIPC and we don’t foresee any rate increase this year as a result of increased power costs coming down the line.”
The Southern Illinois Power Cooperative is a coal plant that serves numerous power cooperatives in the Southern part of the state. Johnson says they are also protected against the open market rates by a power contract with the Prairie State Energy Campus in Marrissa. Starting next year, Tri-County will also enter into a 20-year contract to purchase 100 megawatts of solar power. Johnson says they normally only buy around five percent of their power from the open market that is seeing a doubling of prices over the past year.
