Sawnee EMC Announces Rate Decrease
Contact: Blake House-VP, Member Services
Blake.House@Sawnee.com

(Cumming, GA, September 25, 2009) -  After what seems like a long summer mixed with both hot and mild weather… Sawnee Electric Membership Corporation is pleased to announce that its retail electricity rates will experience a reduction beginning in September. 

Sawnee EMC, an electric utility serving more than 147,000 accounts in seven (7) counties of greater north Georgia, announced today that its Wholesale Power Cost Adjustment (WPCA) factor by which members are billed will be reduced by 50% from its current level, effective September 1, 2009.  “The costs we are seeing for electricity are down due to decreases in the price of the fuels used to generate it; and we are proud to be able to pass these savings on to our members by lowering their rates while not impacting the overall financial health of the organization,” states Michael A. Goodroe, President and CEO of Sawnee EMC.  He adds, “As a cooperative, we want our members to see the lowest possible costs while not compromising the level of service and reliability we offer to our members”.

This action will affect all residential and most commercial accounts served by Sawnee EMC.  The net effect of this action is to reduce the amount each member will pay for electricity each month for the remainder of 2009.  “We are very excited to be lowering our retail rates at this time.  This has been a hard summer for us all, and after such a challenging financial year, it’s nice to be able to assist our members and show them we care by offering lower rates” says Blake House, Vice President of Member Services for Sawnee EMC.  “Lowering the WPCA is one way we can assist our members in reducing their monthly energy bill.  This action demonstrates that the Board and staff are committed to doing all we can to keep the rates that our members pay as low as possible,” says House.

The reduction will occur in the WPCA factor, which is part of Sawnee’s various retail rate schedules, by which members’ electric accounts are billed.  This change in the WPCA factor means that each consumer will see a reduction on their electric bill of $12.24 for every 1,000 kWh of energy used in this period.  Additionally, the members will see the shift from “summer” to “winter” rates, which means that the average residential member should experience an additional cost reduction over and above the WPCA change described above.

“The actual overall impact, in dollars and cents, of the rate reduction will vary and is dependent on each member’s level of usage in a particular month”.  Mr. House added, “After this modification, rates should remain unchanged for the balance of 2009.  We will continue to monitor our costs, including wholesale purchased power, very closely and further changes could be recommended should conditions warrant.” 

Sawnee EMC is proud of its history of serving its members/owners with competitively-priced electric service coupled with a high level of customer service and a very reliable distribution system during a variety of weather conditions.  Sawnee EMC is more than electricity, it is service. 

About Sawnee EMC:

Sawnee Electric Membership Corporation is a distribution electric cooperative headquartered in Cumming, Georgia. Sawnee serves electricity to over 147,000 accounts throughout seven (7) counties of greater north Georgia. Sawnee’s assets exceed $494 million with annual energy sales of 3.1 billion kWh and annual revenue of $322 million. They have over 300 dedicated employees making up a team of professionals that meet the needs of the members/owners through a network of over 9,800 miles of distribution facilities in Sawnee’s complex network of distribution facilities.                                                                     

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