Carroll County Electric Department
By Ron Park
Staff Writer
Those who get their electricity from the Carroll County Electric Department (CCED) can expect significantly higher bills for their usage during the months of July and August.
During the July 28 meeting of the CCED Board, CCED general manager Ryan Drewry, who had to participate in the meeting via cell phone due to COVID, said that bills will be about 22 percent higher for usage in July of this year over July of 2021, and bills for usage in August will be around 32 percent higher than the previous year.
As Drewry explained, spikes in the market prices for fuel, particularly for natural gas, have caused TVA, which sells power to the CCED, to up its dictated portion of CCED customers’ monthly bills.
Drewry said that the CCED paid the TVA $3.5 million for power for the month of June – which he said was definitely the highest bill they’ve paid in the past 10 years and maybe ever.
Drewry said he was expecting the average residential bill to be about $250 for July usage and $265 for August.
On a positive note, Drewry said that experts are saying that fuel costs are currently hitting a peak, after which they should start to go down.
“We are impacted by this, as well as our customers,” he said.
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In separate matter, Jacob Smothers with Huntingdon Insurance gave the board an update on the status of the company’s insurance policies for workers compensation and general liability.
Smother said that, for the first time ever, rates for their workers comp insurance are actually going down, but he added that the portion of their general liability insurance that covers cyber threats is nearly doubling over the previous year. Smothers said, however, that the insurance company would allow them to extend their coverage regarding that for another month for $987, giving them some time to explore other options.
Smothers recommended that the board go ahead and renew their policies for workers comp and general liability, while also taking advantage of the offer for just one additional month of coverage for cyber threats.
Board members approved Smothers’ recommendations unanimously in two separate votes.
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In other business:
•Board member Lori Nolen said that the board now has a vacancy with chairman Terry Howell going off the board, and, after some discussion, board members agreed to defer the election of board officers until the Aug. 25 meeting.
•Drewry advised the board that they may have to rebid two work vehicles they ordered back in October of last year due to supply chain issues. He also said that the expected delivery date of the digger truck they ordered that same month has been pushed back to May of 2024.
•Drewry informed that board that three new employees have recently been hired, including Brian Padilla and Levi Jordan, both as linemen with Huntingdon crews, and Brandi McKinnie as a cashier in the Huntingdon office.
