Idalia recovery charges for SVEC customers

By Tami Stevenson

The Suwannee Valley Electric Cooperative (SVEC) announced last week in a social media post that it was going to bill customers a recovery charge for damages from Hurricane Idalia, beginning February 1. The co-op is also posting Q & A’s on their Facebook page for concerned customers.

     SVEC officials said, “For the first time in our co-op’s history, a storm recovery charge will go into effect on Thursday, February 1. While figures are not yet final, we estimate the total restoration cost from Hurricane Idalia to be approximately $55 million, making it the costliest storm we’ve ever experienced. We also estimate SVEC’s share of that cost to be about 40%, or $22 million, after FEMA reimbursements. Consumer-members will be updated as these estimates change.”

     They added that in order to recover the portion that FEMA does not reimburse, an Idalia Recovery Charge is necessary. The charge is less than one penny per kWh of electricity use, or $0.0092/kWh. For example, a member consuming 1,000 kWh will have a recovery charge of $9.20. They stated recovery charges will be dropped as soon as they collect the amount not reimbursed by FEMA.

     “We understand this situation is difficult and are doing everything in our power to mitigate costs as much as possible while maintaining the reliability of our grid.”