On July 1, 2025, Lumbee River EMC will implement a wholesale power cost adjustment (WPCA). The co-op will add a charge of $.005 (half a cent) per kilowatt-hour to every member’s bill. For example, a member who uses 1,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity will pay an additional $5.00 per month. The wholesale power cost adjustment will appear as a separate line item on each month’s bill.
As our members, we must ask you to share these costs. As a not-for-profit cooperative, maintaining a dependable service at the most affordable price possible remains the cornerstone of our business. To accomplish this goal, we must also protect the integrity and financial stability of our organization.
This is the part of our retail rates that adjusts for changes in purchased power and other cost. The Wholesale Power Cost Adjustment (WPCA) on each member’s electric bill can be dependent upon Lumbee River's cost for generation capacity, the fuels that are used to generate our power and other cost.
The WPCA is necessary due to above-average costs of purchased power. North Carolina’s Electric Cooperatives (NCEC), from whom we source our power, has experienced an additional $50 million in unforeseen costs. As a member of the NCEC system, Lumbee River EMC must cover approximately $5.9 million of this increase.
The co-op will add a charge of $.005 (half a cent) per kilowatt-hour to every member’s bill. For example, a member who uses 1,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity will pay an additional $5.00 per month. The wholesale power cost adjustment will appear as a separate line item on each month’s bill.
We are not sure at this time. We know that it will be at this level for the foreseeable future and until the highly volatile natural gas market settles down. No one is able to tell for sure; but rest assured, we will adjust it in accordance with our cost. As wholesale natural gas prices come down, we fully expect the WPCA to decrease as well
We are committed to dependable, affordable service and actively plan for future energy needs. We work to minimize the impact of external factors on your bill and protect the financial stability of our cooperative.
Conserve energy! As crazy as it sounds… Lumbee River wants you to “use less”. When you use less, our and your costs go down. Things you can do…Set your thermostat to settings recommended by Lumbee River EMC, 78 in the summer and 68 in the winter, insulate your water heater; repair leaking hot water faucets; turn off lights, etc... There are many other things you can do to conserve energy. We will be glad to send you a list of energy conservation tips and help with energy grants. We offer a bill program called “budget billing” that spreads the cost of your monthly bill out over a long period of time and, when you need to wait and pay your bill late, we offer payment arrangements.
If you have any questions or concerns regarding the implementation of this wholesale power cost adjustment (WPCA), we encourage you to call our office at (910) 843-4131 or 1-800-683-5571. We will do our best to answer your questions and we look forward to working with you on ways that you may be able to reduce your monthly bill. We are here to help and to deliver the reliable power you have come to know and expect