Sawnee EMC Announces Rate Decrease

(Cumming, GA - October 23, 2007) -  Sawnee Electric Membership Corporation (Sawnee EMC) has announced that rates will be lowered.  Sawnee EMC, an electric utility serving more than 146,000 accounts in seven (7) counties of northern Georgia, announced today that, effective November 2, 2007, its wholesale power cost adjustment (WPCA) factor by which members are billed will be reduced for the balance of 2007.  “The budgeted cost for wholesale purchased power and other items for 2007 were less than expected and we are proud to be able to pass this lower cost on to our members by lowering their rates,” states Michael A. Goodroe, President and CEO of Sawnee. 

This action will affect all residential accounts and many commercial accounts served by Sawnee EMC.  The net effect of this action is to reduce the amount each member will pay for electricity for the remainder of 2007.  “We’re very excited to be lowering our purchased power factor and, in effect, our retail rates.  After the summer when most members see higher-than-normal power bills, our members will welcome lower rates for the remainder of the year,” says Blake House, Vice President of Member Services for Sawnee EMC.  “Lowering the wholesale power cost adjustment factor is just one way we can assist our members in lowering their monthly energy bill.  This action helps demonstrate to our members that we are committed to keeping rates as low as possible,” says House.

The reduction mentioned will occur in the WPCA factor, which is part of many of the various retail rate schedules by which Sawnee EMC bills its members.  This change in the WPCA factor means that each account will see a reduction on their electric bill of $12.17 for every 1,000 kWh of energy used per month.  This means that the average member could see a savings between $6.08 and $12.17 per month versus previous rates.

The savings from this reduction will vary and are dependent on each member’s actual level of usage during the months this change is in effect.  Mr. House added, “We will continue to monitor power cost very closely and, should conditions warrant, further changes may be recommended.” 

Sawnee EMC is proud of its history of serving its member/owners with competitively-priced electric service coupled with a high level of reliability throughout a variety of weather conditions.  Sawnee EMC is more than electricity, it’s service. 

About Sawnee EMC:

Sawnee Electric Membership Corporation is a distribution electric cooperative headquartered in Cumming, Georgia. Sawnee serves electricity to over 146,000 accounts in northern Georgia. Sawnee assets exceed $469 million with annual energy sales of 2.9 billion kWh and revenue of $279 million. They have over 305 dedicated employees making up a team of professionals that meets the needs of the member/owners through a network of over 9,569 miles of distribution facilities.