Sam Houston Electric Cooperative members are seeing lower wholesale energy costs. The Cooperative has reduced energy costs 7.37 percent, from 8.14 cents per kilowatt-hour to 7.54 cents per kWh, according to Sam Houston Electric Cooperative Chief Communications Officer Keith Stapleton.
“As a not-for-profit Cooperative, our goal is to deliver reliable, affordable electricity,” Stapleton said. “With increasing costs related to regulations and other challenges, it’s good to see natural gas prices coming down. Since more than a third of the electricity we provide to our members is generated by natural gas, we are happy to be able to pass the savings on to our members.”
In addition to passing wholesale energy cost savings on to their members, the Cooperative has also stepped up its education initiatives regarding the importance of conservation by providing simple energy saving tips every month in Texas Co-op Power magazine as well as in public service announcements in local newspapers and radio.
“People may wonder why we encourage our members to use electricity more efficiently through energy conservation,” Stapleton said. “After all, we are in the business of selling kilowatt-hours. Why would we encourage our members to use less electricity?”
Stapleton said the answer is that the Co-op is a not-for-profit entity. Sam Houston EC is in business to serve its members in the most efficient, reliable and cost-effective way possible.
“Sam Houston Electric Cooperative is owned by the members we serve, so that’s important to us,” Stapleton said.
Reduced power consumption not only saves individual members money each month, but it also saves the Cooperative’s membership in the long run by allowing the Board of Directors and management team to negotiate cost-effective power based on a more stable load profile.
“Rest assured, while our members are doing their part to conserve energy, we’re doing our part to bring them reliable power at a low cost,” Stapleton said. “After all, we’re members, too, so we share their interests in keeping costs down.”
