A Closer Look at Your Utility Bill: The PGA and ECA
Like many utilities, CFU has variable charges on utility bills that reflect the market prices of gas and electricity. Those charges on CFU's bill are called the Purchased Gas Adjustment (PGA) and the Energy Cost Adjustment (ECA).
Purchased Gas Adjustment (PGA)
The Purchased Gas Adjustment (PGA) appears on your natural gas bill. The total reflects the cost of the natural gas a customer uses. If your billed usage occurs both before and after the first of the month, your effective PGA will be calculated for the number of days each PGA was in effect.
The PGA fluctuates up and down based on the wholesale price CFU pays for the gas it provides to customers. CFU does not mark up what we pay for natural gas. The cost of the gas commodity is a pass-through to customers, so if gas market costs go up or down so does the PGA.
Higher market costs do not affect CFU’s base rates, which include infrastructure and administrative costs.
View the last 12 month PGA history here.
Energy Cost Adjustment (ECA)
The Energy Cost Adjustment (ECA) appears on your electric bill. The total reflects the cost of the electricity a customer uses. In the ECA, CFU passes on to customers only the cost to produce or purchase electricity without markup. The ECA changes every month. If your billed usage occurs both before and after the first of the month, your effective ECA will be calculated for the number of days each ECA was in effect.
An emerging trend in power generation means that natural gas market prices can also affect electric bills. A growing portion of our country’s electricity is generated by natural gas. So when natural gas prices are high, electric market prices also tend to go up. The good news is that CFU owns generating assets that can help control electric costs for customers when market prices are high. CFU continues to own and operate the Streeter Station power plant in Cedar Falls. In addition, CFU owns shares of large power plants in western Iowa and maintains a community solar array. Plant ownership reduces the amount of energy CFU has to buy to supply to customers when prices are extremely high. While electric utility bills will be affected by wholesale market cost increases, we can avoid extreme bill impacts because of CFU's ability to produce electricity. Market volatility emphasizes the importance of local ownership of generating resources. CFU will continue to own a diverse and robust mix of power resources to provide reliable and affordable service.
View the last 12 month ECA history here.
Example Bill
Below is an example bill. As you can see, the ECA was $0.045 for part of the month and $0.013 for the remaining days. Customers are billed at the ECA rate for the electricity used on each day throughout the month. Similarly, the PGA was $6.7864 for part of the month and $5.6377 for the remainder. Customers are billed at the PGA rate for natural gas used on each day throughout the month.
