September speaks of changes, in the sun, the season,
the school year. Soon, you may see advertising that talks about Virginia
Energy Choice, which begins in some parts of the state on January 1,
�02. The choice in question relates to the fact that electricity supply
was deregulated in legislation passed by the General Assembly in 1999,
ultimately giving all Virginians the right to choose their supplier of
electricity. (The choice will only involve the supplier of the actual
electricity; the local utility, which in your case is an electric
cooperative, will continue to deliver the electricity to your home or
business.)
By January 1, 2004, all electric utility service
areas will be opened up to choice. And if there are competitive service
providers interested in selling electricity to you, you will have the
right to choose one if you wish. As mentioned, your cooperative will
continue to deliver the electricity to you.
Cooperative member-consumers have been contacting
Cooperative Living magazine and their local cooperative a lot of late,
asking what will happen if they don�t make a choice, and also asking if
they will be allowed to select their local electric cooperative as their
supplier of electricity. Members of the General Assembly have recognized
the unique nature of electric cooperatives, in which the customers are
also the owners of the utility. Because of this, cooperatives have been
treated differently in several key areas under the deregulation law that
was passed in 1999, and under further fine-tuning legislation passed in
both the 2000 and �01 sessions.
The answer to both questions is simple: If
cooperative members do not make a choice, they will continue to receive
their electric energy supply from their electric cooperative. And if they
wish to actually affirmatively select their electric cooperative as their
electricity supplier, they may do that also.
But will cooperative members actually have other
electricity suppliers interested in marketing and selling electricity to
them? Based on what�s going on in other states that have deregulated
electricity supply, that is not a safe assumption. At this point, there
are no competitive electricity suppliers anywhere in the country that are
selling electricity to cooperative members.
Why? In all likelihood, for the very reason that
cooperatives were formed in the first place. Overwhelmingly, cooperatives
serve residential and small business members in rural areas, small towns
and suburbs. These types of accounts do not offer much, if anything, in
the way of profit. Which is exactly why not-for-profit cooperatives were
formed three generations ago in your community to provide reasonably
priced, reliable electric service.
Even if no
other electricity suppliers are interested in serving you, your
cooperative always has been, and always will be. And if you would like
to find out more about the Virginia Energy Choice program, please call
their toll-free phone number, 1-877-YES2004; go to their Web site,
www.yesvachoice.com; or write to Virginia Energy Choice, c/o State
Corporation Commission, P.O. Box 1197, Richmond, VA 23218.
Your electric cooperative has been your utility of
need in the past. We very much hope to become your utility of choice in
the future.
