Rate Increase - News post

Falling Behind?

Bill Payment Help is Available

Paulding Putnam recognizes that financial hardships happen to everyone, and sometimes you need a little extra support paying your bill. We have many options available to do things like giving more time to pay, setting up payment plans, and harnessing the power of our communities to help reduce your payment. Let’s work together to find the right option for you.

Explore our bill payment options.

Visit our Understanding Your Bill & Rates page.

SmartHub has a new "Home Energy Analytics" tool that will show you the energy breakdown of each appliance in your home, offer bill projections, and custom tips to help you save. Make sure you have a SmartHub account to take advantage of this informative new capability to give you complete control over your electric account and usage!

We have several free programs and tools to help you control your electric use. Feel free to call us for details, questions, or personalized advice.

• Take advantage of our rebates for energy-efficient upgrades.
• We provide free home energy audits – over the phone, in person, or even online using software.
• Take advantage of our online energy calculators to help you determine what it costs to run almost everything in your home.
• Join our Radio Controlled Switch Program for your electric water heater or air conditioner.
• Our SmartHub app and online site give you access to monthly, daily, and hourly electric use. This can help you identify where your energy dollars are going, which could lead to savings.
• Create your account now.

• Our wholesale power supply comes from Buckeye Power, a not-for-profit cooperative serving Ohio’s 24 distribution cooperatives. We own our own power-generating assets, instead of relying on an unpredictable market. And our fuel generating source is primarily coal – the most economical source.
• Shared services: We share marketing and communications employees, as well as energy advising and other services with area co-ops. Sharing these employees saves Paulding Putnam more than $30,000 a year!
• Competitive bid process for tree trimming, pole testing, and other major projects.
• Load control - Water heater and air conditioner control switches and commercial account off-peak programs help us save thousands in avoided demand charges.
• Members also keep rates down when they conserve energy during peak alerts.
• Grassroots lobbying - many examples of fighting for fair legislation and regulations.
• Outsourcing
  • Just a few examples include billing and member information software, as well as dispatching after-hours. This is why we also have an automated phone line to handle bill payments, outages, etc.
• Purchasing – Our transformers, conductors, etc. are mostly purchased from not-for-profit cooperative-owned supply companies. This keeps costs low. We also have a dedicated warehouse employee who researches the best prices and monitors market conditions to pre-buy when possible.
• We partner with a non-profit insurance provider for employee benefits. Through the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA), they do not receive commissions, pay taxes, etc. compared to other insurance companies that pay margins and need to increase rates to increase their bottom dollar. We are solely paying for coverage and getting the best price.
• Electronic and digital efficiencies provide greater member convenience and reduce employee costs.
  • Over 70% of our members pay electronically or automatically, and 20% are enrolled in paperless billing, saving us mail and paper costs.
  • Energy library, online energy audits and calculators
  • Payment processing – scans and uploads member payments rather than manual processing.
  • Office and field technologies and work processes are almost all electronic or automated
  • Our SmartHub site provides our members access to everything they need regarding the self-management of their accounts.

Paulding Putnam residential members pay 12.9¢ per kWh. Even after the rate adjustment, this is still less than the average price in Ohio and Indiana.

This rate increase is still lower than what neighboring electric providers such as American Electric Power (AEP) and Indiana Michigan Power (I&M) have implemented in the last year again due to the rising costs of doing business.