BY DAN HILDEBRAN
Monitor Editor
KEYSTONE HEIGHTS— Clay Electric CEO and General Manager Ricky Davis told co-op members during the utility’s annual meeting that the co-op added 10,000 new accounts in 2021 and that because of increasing natural gas costs, the nonprofit will be raising rates in April for the third time in the last five months.
Rate increase
Clay increased its fuel adjustment in December by 0.4 cents per kilowatt hour, raising the cost of power by $4 per month for the average 1000-kilowatt-a-month user.
The utility increased its access charge by $4 a month in January. Clay charges the $27-a-month flat fee for members to access its services.
Davis said that in April, the co-op will again raise its fuel adjustment by 0.4 cents per KWh, matching the December increase.
“The cost of power is now 70% of Clay Electric’s total expense,” Davis said. “The price of natural gas to generate electricity has more than doubled in the last few months.”
He added that despite the price increases, Clay Electric remains one of the lowest priced cooperatives in the state of Florida and lower than many of its neighboring utilities.
Growth and upgrades
The CEO said that 30 years ago, the co-op served around 100,000 accounts, but is now on the verge of doubling that amount.
“We have been proactive in preparing our workforce and the infrastructure to handle the additional growth,” he said.
Davis also said the co-op has updated its computer hardware and software over the past two years, and the utility continues to prioritize cybersecurity in its organization.
He also highlighted upgrades to the co-op’s distribution system.
“Eighty miles of distribution lines were updated last year to strengthen feeder ties, improve reliability and increase capacity,” he said. “These projects included changing out 3,400 wood poles and converting wood poles to concrete poles where it is justifiable.”
Davis also said the utility replaced transformers in its Orange Park district.
“We upgraded six substations to increase reliability and capacity,” he said.
Davis said Seminole Electric, Clay’s power supplier, is completing construction of a new natural gas-powered generating facility in Putnam County.
“When this new generation resource is fully operational this fall,” he said, “it will increase power output for Seminole members by 24%, and it will also drop overall emissions by 34%.”
He added that Seminole is also adding 300 megawatts of solar generation capacity, which should come online in 2023.
Davis said Clay and Seminole are monitoring the growth of electric vehicles and are responding with increased capacity.
“Electric vehicles continue to be purchased by our cooperative members,” he said. “In the next 10 years, this will be an extremely large load.”
Supply chain challenges
Davis said the COVID-19 pandemic continued to affect the utility’s operations in 2021, particularly its supply chain for materials and vehicles.
“We’ve seen material costs go up as much as 50% in some cases,” he said. “Where we used to get vehicles in two months, now we are looking at possibly two, two-and-a-half years to get some of the vehicles.”
