Keeping Our Rates Fair and Aligned with the Cost of Power

At Itasca-Mantrap, our top priority is to provide you with safe and reliable electricity at the most affordable cost possible. One of the ways we do that is by making sure our rates reflect the actual cost of delivering power to each and every member across our system. To do this, we must first look at our company through a Costs of Services Study, which allocates the costs of the distribution and related system infrastructure to bring the energy to your home or business. From there, we will dive deeper into rate development.

Over the past several years, our transmission and power company, Great River Energy, has moved toward a billing method that puts greater emphasis on when electricity is used, not just how much is used. This is known as Time-of-Use (TOU) and Demand-Based billing. Under this approach, electricity used during “peak” hours — when member demand (usage) on the system is highest — costs more to deliver than electricity used during “off-peak” hours, when demand is lower.

Why does this matter to us? Because our co-op is billed by GRE based on these patterns. If our members’ usage stays high during peak hours, our energy costs increase — and that affects everyone’s rates. To keep our costs fair and manageable, we may need to align our own pricing structure with the way we are billed by Great River Energy. This means shifting more of our rates to reflect the real costs of peak-hour power.

By doing so, we send a clear price signal that encourages members to move some of their usage to off-peak times — saving money for themselves and for the entire co-op. This is something we have not done historically at Itasca-Mantrap but we feel it is important to educate everyone upon. Not only do we believe this may be inevitable in the future, but also - and more importantly - it may be the best way to develop rates for our members.

Here’s the good news: with small changes in when and how we use electricity, we can make a big difference. For example:

• Running dishwashers, clothes dryers, or EV chargers during off-peak hours.
• Adjusting thermostats a few degrees higher/lower during peak times in the summer or winter months.
• Staggering the use of large appliances rather than running them all at once.
• Utilizing the rebate dollars associated with Itasca-Mantrap’s load management programs to make your home or business more efficient.

When we work together, we can control costs, reduce strain on the grid, and manage the increasing cost factors that affect our rates for the long term. This alignment between how we’re billed and how we bill our members is about fairness, transparency, and ensuring that our co-op remains financially strong while serving your needs.

As always, thank you for being an engaged and educated member of our cooperative family. Together, we can develop a stronger, smarter energy future.