Beartooth Electric Cooperative > My BEC > Rate Design

Rate Design

Member Notice: Rate Design—New rates go into effect July 1, 2023

The Effect Of The Rate Structure On You—

What does this mean for your account? It depends on your energy use habits. This adjustment is designed to collect the Co-op’s costs fairly and give Members more control over their electric bills.

Rate Design Bill Calculator

We recommend you have your current bill ready. To enter your actual usage information, just click the drop-down to select your rate class and enter your data. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to call the office at 406-446-2310.

	Current Bill	New Bill (July 1, 2023)	Difference
Base Charge	0	0	0
Energy Charge (kWh)	0	0	0
NWE Transmission Charge (kWh)	0	0	0
System Charge (kW)	0	0	0
Total	0	0	0

Member Notice—

The Beartooth Electric Cooperative, Inc. (BEC) Board of Trustees hereby notifies Co-op Members that it will be voting on proposals to adjust rates for the Residential, Small Commercial, and Irrigation rate classes at the June 27, 2023, regular Board Meeting.

These proposed rate adjustments are the result of a rate design review process conducted by the Board and BEC’s Risk Management Committee that has been underway since October 2018. With the exception of the Irrigation rate class, the proposed rates are not intended to generate additional overall revenue for BEC. Rather, the proposed rates are designed to produce the same amount of revenue from each customer class as the current rates assuming normal weather conditions.

Over the years, BEC’s Cost of Service Analysis (COSA) results have consistently shown that Irrigation class revenues fall short of meeting the costs to serve this class. However, the total amount of revenue shortfall has varied with each COSA. The proposed change is intended to better align revenues with costs. The Risk Management Committee recommended that the Board implement a 4% revenue increase from the Irrigation rate class.

BEC Bylaws, ARTICLE X-Financial Transactions, SECTION 5: Change in Rates, require notice to be given to Members at least 30-days before a vote by the Board to approve any change in BEC’s rates.

The BEC Board of Trustees hereby notifies Co-op Members that the Board will vote on this proposal at the June 27, 2023, regular Board Meeting. During the notification period, Members may comment on this proposal via USPS to Beartooth Electric Cooperative, Inc., Attn: Member Services, PO Box 1110, Red Lodge, MT 59068; via email to bec@beartoothelectric.com; or at the regular Board Meetings on April 25, 2023 and June 27, 2023, or at the Annual Member Meeting on May, 20, 2023.

For additional information, please call General Manager Kevin P. Owens at (406) 446-2310, or contact any Member of the BEC Board of Trustees. This notice and documents related to BEC’s Rate Design process are available on the BEC website, www.beartoothelectric.com, under the My BEC tab, Rate Design, and Member Notices.

Current and proposed rates for affected rate classes are shown in the following table. The proposed rates would be effective beginning on July 1, 2023.

Cost of Service Analysis and Rate Design Information

All BEC members are invited and encouraged to attend both committee and board meetings to participate in the project process. If you are not able to attend the meetings, below are links to all articles, reports and presentations provided to date. If you have questions, please do not hesitate to call the office at (406) 446-2310 or contact any board trustee or risk management committee member.

January 2021