New Member Information

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Choctaw Electric Cooperative is an electric cooperative owned by the approximately 18,000 households and businesses that use our services. Founded in 1940, CEC service territory includes 3,599 miles of line serving Choctaw, Pushmataha, McCurtain, Bryan, Leflore, and Atoka Counties

Unlike investor owned utilities, we're a member-owned not-for-profit organization.

We're committed to providing reliable affordable electricity and other services to all of our members.

You have a voice in the cooperative.
You can vote on by-laws and directors and participate in CEC's Annual Meeting each year in September.
You will receive our monthly newsletter Inside Your Co-op, which contains valuable information about the cooperative, energy efficiency, legislative issues, programs and services.
You and your family can take part in our services and programs.

Payment Options

The Choctaw Electric Misson

Choctaw Electric Cooperative has been very successful in meeting its primary mission of bringing quality electric service to the counties we serve.

In addition, CEC's Board of Trustees, management, and power partners continuously work on a variety of projects that positively influence the quality of life in rural Oklahoma.

Capital Credits

The Choctaw Electric Misson

As a not-for-profit business, when you pay your energy bill each month, you are accumulating equity in your cooperative through capital credit allocation.

Margins in excess of the cost to serve members are utilized as operating capital. When the cooperative realizes a positive margin above and beyond operating expenses, the margins are allocated through a capital credits system according to member's usage.

Capital credits are refunded periodically when the board of trustees determines that it will not jeopardize the finaincial condition of the cooperative.

CEC Rates

Rates are adopted by the Board of Trustees, with the purpose of providing quality electric service at the lowest possible cost. There are separate rate schedules for different classes of service, and all, including security lights, are subject to a Power Cost Adjustment, Tax Adjustment and Gross Receipts Tax Charge. Rate schedules for all classes of service are available upon request.

View Our rates

How Electric Rates are Set

Choctaw Electric Cooperative rates are based on the cost of providing electric service to member/owners. The costs include the cost of operating and maintaining lines and equipment, expenses and wholesale power costs.

As a not-for-profit cooperative, we also generate revenue, but only as much as we need to operate. We don't set our rates to make profits for shareholders who don't live in the communities we serve; money we receive as payment for services stays hard at work locally. And because we're a cooperative, any profits, called margins, above and beyond operating costs are returned to members.

Power Cost Adjustment (PCA)

Choctaw Electric Cooperative purchases power from Western Farmers Electric Cooperative (WFEC). The cost to make electricity is affected by the price of coal and fuel. Choctaw Electric has an established rate per kilowatt hour to provide electricity to our customers and that rate does not fluctuate. The Power Cost Adjustment (PCA) on your bill is a fuel adjustment charge caused by an increased or decreased cost of coal or fuel purchased by WFEC. The PCA is shown on your bill as a price per kilowatt-hour. The PCA changes monthly to reflect the fuel costs incurred by WEFC.

PCA - A Basic Explanation

A portion of the co-op's cost of power is already included in the energy rate (base rate)

The Power Cost Adjustment is a separate line item on each Choctaw Electric bill statement which reflects the increases/decreases in the co-op's cost of power purchased wholesale from Western Farmers Electric Cooperative. The fluctuation in the Power Cost Adjustment is largely caused by changes in the cost of fuel for generation.

The co-op's cost of wholesale power is approximately 61 percent of Choctaw’s total expenses (per 2016 audited end-of-year figures), so it's critical that the co-op makes sure that it recovers all its wholesale power costs in its retail sales. The cost is collected from the co-op's members through the energy charge and the Power Cost Adjustment.

A portion of the co-op's cost of power is already included in the energy rate (base rate)

Presently 4.6 cents per kWh is included in the base rate for the cost of wholesale power. When the cost of power is greater than the amount included in the base rate, the Power Cost Adjustment is a charge. When the cost is less, the Power Cost Adjustment is a credit.

Each cooperative’s base rate is different which is determined by the cooperative’s cost of service study, so if the base rate is different the power cost adjustment will be different. Some cooperatives levelize their power cost adjustment based off the previous year. This Power Cost Adjustment application procedure is determined by each cooperative individually.

All WFEC cooperatives have the same rate, however each cooperative’s cost of wholesale power is different.

This cost is determined by the cooperatives load characteristics: residential, commercial, cooperative load during peak times, etc.

Computing the PCA

A portion of the co-op's cost of power is already included in the energy rate (base rate)

Computing the PCA

Each month's Power Cost Adjustment is established on the first billing day after management's review of WFEC’s latest billing and projected power costs for the month. This new Power Cost Adjustment will then take effect on billing cycles 3 & 4 in the same month and cycles 1 & 2 in the following month.

The Power Cost Adjustment on an electric bill statement is computed by multiplying the amount charged or credited by the number of kilowatt hours used. For example, if the amount charged is .02420, and 1,000 kWh was used during the billing period, the Power Cost Adjustment would be a charge of $24.20.

Without Power Cost Adjustments, a utility's base rates would be constantly changing to reflect increases and decreases in the cost of power. Choctaw Electric retains zero percent of the Power Cost Adjustment charge.