If you thought the crawfish situation was bad, SLEMCO has some more news related to last year's drought.
The electric cooperative is letting customers know they'll see an increase in the fuel cost on their bill - but they have a plan to try to lessen the blow.
"We’ve been notified by the folks who generate the electricity you use, that a temporary cost increase has gone into effect for the fuel portion of what it takes to generate your electricity," SLEMCO says in a Friday social media post. "Why is that? The electricity you use is generated by coal that’s transported down the Mississippi River to a power plant in New Roads, Louisiana. Historically low water levels, caused by the recent drought, have significantly increased costs to transport coal down the river for the past few months."
The company doesn't make any money off this part of the bill; it's a direct cost that's passed to customers, the post says.
"Costs associated with the fuel used to generate your electricity are a straight “pass-through” on your bill. SLEMCO doesn’t receive a single penny from the fuel portion of your monthly electric bill," the post states.
But it's not just electricity bills that are affected.
"Coal shipments aren’t the only shipments being affected. Farmers shipping their crops to ports along the Mississippi River for processing have experienced the same rising transportation costs," the post states.
SLEMCO acknowledges the difficulty this might cause for some people, so they've come up with a plan to help.
"We understand how unexpected cost increases can affect the families and businesses who rely on SLEMCO for electric power. So, rather than bill our customers all at once for these temporary additional monthly costs, SLEMCO has decided to spread them out over the next twelve months to minimize the effect on you and your family," the post states. "We will continue to closely monitor the situation and keep you informed. Hopefully, 2024 will experience a more normal rainfall than the last two years and the additional coal transportation expenses can be eliminated once and for all."
If you have a question about the temporary increases, the company advises you to call the customer service department at 337-896-5200.
If you want to see some photos that show the impact of the drought on the river, you can look at images of the Mississippi River in September 2021 and September 2023 provided by the NASA Earth Observatory here: https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/151897/the-mississippi-is-mighty-parched?fbclid=IwAR3SIKLg0Oclz024ElLFD6nsYWSihf679MQaCJbJiVXGl-WWzSCFSV4QvI4
Here's the post:
