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There is also that with the huge number of other considerations that have been forced on power generators.

We have a service charge of $35 a month that has not changed for years in addition to the base rate of about 8.5 cents a Kwh and that has been the same since 2013. The board decided to hold the base rate steady and account for changing cost of power by a PCA (Power Charge Adjustment) that has floated from as low as 0.004 cents in '21 to 2.83 cents now. My full cost varies with power consumed because of the service charge so it is hard to get a solid handle on the final cost per Kwh. We end up paying between 11 and 15 cents a Kwh now depending on use. The PCA went all over the place but it is now becoming steady and higher.

We own a lot of our own base load power generation in another layer of coop shared in a four state area. Additional power is bought on the spot market from solar, wind, hydro, gas and coal. We and another base load provider are facing a huge problem as our coal fired base is forced to phase out. Right now there is nothing to replace it even on the drawing boards.

I hammer the coop frequently but I am surprised they can maintain the costs so well for a system that is so wide spread unlike a metro area.

I am biased and continue to be impressed with the Rural Electric Cooperative system. It is run professionally and guided by member directors. It is a three tiered system of Distribution to the customers, Transmission of power to the Distribution Coops and Power Generation that feeds the Transmission and Distribution to the customers.

I don't pay attention to the commercial providers very much but look at the Coop system's performance more than a little. You may be interested to have a look starting with the Power Generation component for our region of the country.

https://www.aeci.org/about-us/annual-report-financials/

Coops have a unique access to financing so that helps a lot but our base provider has managed to hold our cost of power to about 5 cents so far. Transmission and distribution add 8 to 10 cents to that.

Here on our little state highway we didn't get power until the 50s and we didn't get water until sometime in the 70s. I was here for both events, just barely for the first. Strangely enough, ground water is scarce in our area and the quality is horrible with iron and sulfur aplenty. You don't drink it so much as chew it and you will never need a laxative. Some people say that if they had to choose they would rather do without electricity than rural water. Coops provide both to us as well as fiber to the home internet.

A lot of the time I think the only valuable thing our country has done in the last 80 years is win WWII. Before that there was WPA construction and the REC bill.