What is a Power Cost Adjustment?  (PCA)

The PCA is a monthly adjustment applied to each PLWC electric customer’s bill based upon their individual kilowatt-hour consumption.  Several conditions affect the cost of energy:  weather, demand, contract stipulations, oil and gas prices, among other items.  When there are short-term increases in power costs, the PCA allows recovery of those costs.  If the cost of generating and purchasing power decreases, PLWC passes the decrease along to customers as well.

City of Paragould Ordinance # 2003-27 sets the base energy cost at $0.03027 per kilowatt-hour.  The monthly per kWh charge shall be increased or decreased to reflect changes in the cost of delivered power and energy above or below a base power and energy cost of $.03027 per kWh.

For example:  The cost of delivered power and energy for the month of January 2008 was $.04573 cents.  The difference between the actual cost and the base energy cost is the calculated PCA for the following month:

Est. September 2008 Power Cost		$.04121
Less the Base Power Cost		-$.03027
PCA for October		$.01094

For an electric bill with consumption of 1,000 kilowatt-hours the PCA charge will be $10.94 (1,000 X $.01094).