The phones at HILCO Electric Cooperative are answered twenty-four hours a day. If you are building a home, simply call the office and speak with a representative, or most service request can be completed online. They will set up your service and arrange for a member of our staff to come to your location and discuss options for your new service. If you have any problems with your existing service, you can call the office and speak with a representative who will send a serviceman to your location for repair. All calls are answered by HILCO Electric Cooperative employees whose offices are conveniently located in Itasca, Whitney, Elm Mott and Midlothian. During times of high call volumes, such as during an outage, members are also given the option to leave a voice mail message so that they do not have to wait for the first available representative.

When asked on prior member surveys, HILCO has asked the members if they wish to opt into competition. Every year the overwhelming majority of members indicate they do not wish for their electric cooperative to enter the deregulated market. Deregulation just has not proven to save the average residential customer money. When members judge their cooperative by the results it produces for them, HILCO members have every reason to be proud of the cooperative's board of directors, management, and employees as the members experience competitively low rates, are able to make contributions to the community, see solid financial strength, and have reliable electric service. HILCO is the leading force in promoting a strong economy in our area. Because a cooperative is owned by the local people and the businesses it serves, rather than far-away shareholders, it is a not-for-profit operation that returns excess revenues to its member-customer in proportion to the size of their electric bills. Our motive is to serve the members, not private profit.

Cooperatives are democratically controlled with the one member/one vote principle. Additionally, cooperatives are not-for-profit organizations. When surplus margins occur, the members benefit by receiving patronage dividends.

We continually work to ensure our members have the power they need, when they need it. Our work plans include everything from upgrading existing lines to meet the demands of our growing cooperative to maintaining clearances through tree trimming. HILCO’s ASAI average is 0.999481 ( so basically our electrical system’s reliability is up and operational 99.9481% of the time). However, due to storms, animals, or even vehicle accidents, we do have unavoidable outages. When outages occur, our focus is on restoring as many members as possible as quickly as possible and as safe as possible. The general guideline is to start at the substation level. By restoring service to the substation, many members will have their service restored. The next level would be at the feeder level, then the phase level, and finally, we work on restoring power at the individual transformer and service level. When possible, we will give priority to individuals who have a documented medical necessity for electricity. You can access the medical necessity form here at: Life Support Registration

The electric utility industry possesses its own set of acronyms, PCRF is one of those. PCRF stands for Power Cost Recovery Factor and it is something HILCO Electric Cooperative deals with on a monthly basis. The PCRF is the rate component, on all electric bills, that is a direct reflection of the fluctuating cost of generating power.

Since HILCO is a distribution cooperative, we purchase our power from a wholesale power supplier who has the authority to purchase power from the ERCOT market.

When fuel prices and other expenses rise, it costs more to produce electricity and those costs are passed through to HILCO and its members by an increase in the PCRF. So while HILCO's rate for the price of electricity has not changed, members will pay more with an increased PCRF.

One way to think about PCRF is to compare it to the cost of gasoline for your car. Even though your monthly car payment (the rate) hasn't gone up, the car you drive is costing more to operate now because just as fuel prices have risen, for generated electricity, so have gasoline prices at the pump (the PCRF).

Increases in power costs do not just affect HILCO - nearly every electric utility in the nation faces this same issue. The demand for electric generation continues to increase. As we all know basic economics, with demand high and supplies lower, the price is going to rise.

To minimize the impact of this charge on our members, every attempt is made to "level" the PCRF monthly, rather than to pass on the sometime extreme monthly fluctuations from our wholesale supplier. However, significant changes in power generation and other charges may make it necessary to adjust the PCRF more dramatically.

The main advantage of monthly changes in the PCRF is that it is more responsive to changes in power costs. If power costs go down our members are not stuck with a higher cost indefinitely. Investor owned utilities, such as TXU, can only make rate adjustments for changes in power costs twice annually and must gain approval from the Public Utility Commission of Texas to do so. This means their power cost adjustments may remain higher for their customers for an indefinite period of time and no one knows for certain when or if power prices will decrease from their current levels.

During Winter Storm Uri in February 2021, HILCO incurred significant power costs resulting from the effects of that abnormal and extreme weather event. In May 2021, the Texas legislature adopted SB 1580, which enables electric cooperatives to use securitization financing to recover the extraordinary costs incurred due to Winter Storm Uri. A separate bill was passed to allow other types of electric providers to use securitization as well. It allows the utilities to issue bonds to obtain the necessary capital to pay for the costs from Winter Storm Uri. This type of financing will allow HILCO to spread these extraordinary costs over an extended period of time and keep the monthly bills lower than they would be if securitized financing were not used. We estimate that this type of financing will result in savings of over $44 million compared to costs that would have been incurred using conventional financing. Securitization financing is a common method used by utilities to pay costs associated with extreme weather events, damage from natural disasters, etc. HILCO doesn't use long-term financing to pay power bills in the normal course of business, but this bill was so significant it was impossible to pay with operating funds.

What does using securitized financing mean for the members?

Ultimately, the costs resulting from Winter Storm Uri must be paid. Because the costs are so great, they cannot be paid from operating funds. Financing the costs is the only option. With securitized financing, a securitization charge will be included on monthly bills to repay the bonds and the ongoing financing costs. The securitized charges will remain in effect until the bonds are paid in full. It will be based on energy usage and subject to adjustment periodically to ensure that we collect the sufficient, and only the sufficient, funds to timely pay the principal and interest on the bonds. If the energy usage in HILCO's service territory grows, the amount of the charge per kWh will decrease.

How extraordinary was the power cost for February 2021 following Winter Storm Uri?

The power bill for that month alone was equivalent to more than four years of normal power bills. It included substantial amounts owed to our wholesale power supplier, Brazos Electric. Brazos Electric filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in March 2021 and exited bankruptcy in December 2022. The amount we owed for power supplied during Winter Storm Uri was ultimately determined by the bankruptcy court.

For more information click here

Demand is the total amount of electricity being used by a consumer at any one time. Demand varies from hour to hour, day to day, and season to season. This usage, which is expressed in kilowatts (not kilowatt-hours), is called the "demand" on the system. HILCO Electric Cooperative monitors demand over 15 minutes. The customer is charged for the highest 15-minute average recorded on the demand meter. After HILCO Electric reads the meter each month, demand is reset to zero, and the meter starts over, recording the highest 15-minute average for the next billing period.

To illustrate how demand charge can effect an electric bill, let's look at two simple examples:

Running a 50 kW load for one hour would result in usage of 50-kilowatt hours (kWh) and accrue a demand charge of 50 kW.

• 50kW x 1 hour = 50 kWh.
• Demand = 50 kW.

Running a 5 kW load for 10 hours would also result in usage of 50 kWh but would only accrue a demand of 5 kW.

• 5 kW x 10 hours = 50 kWh.
• Demand = 5 kW.

Both examples use the same amount of energy (50 kWh) and perform the same amount of work. However, the resulting bills will be very different.

Applying HILCO Electric's General Service Large Rate demand charge of $ 7.00 per kW and an energy charge of 3.307 cents per kWh to both examples will produce the following results:

• Bill Number 1
• 50kW x $ 7.00 = $ 350.00
• 50 kWh x .03307 = $ 1.65
• Total = $ 351.65

• Bill Number 2
• 5 kW x $ 7.00 = $ 35.00
• 50 kWh x .03307 = $ 1.65
• Total = $ 36.65

WHY SO DIFFERENT?

The actual energy (kWh) use was the same, and the work done is the same. The difference between the bills is based entirely on the highest demand recorded during any given 15-minute period that month.

WHY ARE DEMAND CHARGES USED?

Demand charges are the way your co-op pays for generation and distribution capacity it needs to meet peak demand that occurs at any given time. The demand charge your co-op pays to its wholesale power supplier is also calculated on the basis of the highest demand during the month. HILCO Electric uses the same method to bill demand to its demand rate customers as we are charged by our supplier.

WHO INCURS A DEMAND CHARGE?

All non-residential customers that exceed 25 kW of electrical load. This includes both single-phase and three-phase service locations.

ARE DEMAND CHARGES UNIQUE TO HILCO ELECTRIC?

No. Demand charge billing is used consistently in the electric utility industry.

HOW CAN DEMAND CHARGES BE REDUCED?

To reduce demand charges, simply examine your operation.

• What energy-efficiency improvements can be made?
• Does all of the equipment need to be running at the same time?
• If not, what can be turned off while other equipment is running?

Often there is equipment that is operated infrequently. If this is the case, can some other equipment be turned off while this equipment is running? The result may be a significant savings in your monthly demand charge.

WHAT ELSE CAN BE DONE TO REDUCE DEMAND CHARGES?

Consult with HILCO Electric to assist in evaluating ways to improve the energy efficiency of your operation.

As indicated below, most governmental entities may not impose sales tax on residential electric service, but there are exceptions. We have some cities in our territory that impose such a tax. There are links below that list the cities in Texas that impose the “City Sales Tax” and those that may do so in the future.

As for the City Franchise Fee, all cities in our territory impose a franchise fee that we must collect and pay to them. Any meter in the city limits must pay that fee. We do not keep any of these funds, whether they are sales tax or franchise fee. We simply collect for the governmental entities.

The “Other Tax” that you may see on your bill captures all the miscellaneous taxes that our billing system does not have a category for. An example is, in Hill County, there is an Emergency Service District that requires a tax to be collected. We do not keep any of these funds; they are simply collected and remitted to the governmental entities.

Local Sales and Use Tax on Residential Use of Gas and Electricity

Residential use of natural gas and electricity is exempt from most local sales and use taxes. Counties, transit authorities (MTA/CTD) and most special purpose districts (SPDs) cannot tax residential use of gas and electricity. Any city that adopted local sales tax effective Oct. 1, 1979, or later MAY NOT tax residential use of gas and electricity. See Attorney General Opinion No. H-1282 (1978).

However, certain municipalities that adopted local sales tax before Oct. 1, 1979, and two specific types of SPDs associated with those municipalities can opt to impose local tax on these purchases.

Municipalities

Any city that imposed sales tax before Oct. 1, 1979, could have retained the tax by ordinance on or before May 1, 1979, OR can reimpose the tax at any time. See Rule 3.334(l).

For more information, access:

A list of all cities that currently impose tax on residential use of natural gas and electricity. The effective date of the re-imposition of the tax is provided for those cities that did not retain the tax prior to May 1, 1979.

A list of all cities that do not currently impose the tax but are eligible to do so.

Any city not included on either list is not eligible to impose the tax.

The cooperative pays the bills for things like power generation, maintenance and operations. The money left over after those bills are paid each year is called a margin. Margins provide equity for the cooperative and are assigned to the members through capital credits.

Each home and family is unique. The insulation level, how well the windows seal, whether the appliances are energy-efficient or not play into how much energy is consumed. The habits of the inhabitants also determine the usage. Things like how often laundry is washed and dried, whether window shades are kept closed, and the setting on the thermostat also contribute to the usage level. At HILCO Electric Cooperative, we understand the rising cost of electricity and provide information to our members on how they can save money. Whether a member uses the energy calculator off the www.hilco.coop website, reads the tips published each month in our Texas Co-op Power magazine, or requests a free energy-savings guidebook to be mailed, HILCO Electric Cooperative works to find ways to disseminate information to our members. Additionally, thanks to the capabilities of our TWACS metering system, we can provide members with daily meter readings. Many members find this information useful in assisting them with tracking when their usage increases. Another service the cooperative provides to the members free of charge is an extensive one-on-one home energy audit. After completing a short questionnaire, a representative will meet the member in their home an suggest ways to help lower their usage.

Yes, our SmartHub app does have a notification system. You can download it here: https://hilco.coop/tools-calculators

After downloading, you may go to the SmartHub app home page, then click “More” on the bottom right corner, then “Settings”, where you can scroll to the middle of the page and select “Manage Notifications”. Once there, you can adjust several ways to get notifications about your bill, outages, high/low usage, etc. At the bottom of that screen you will see “Usage”. This notification setting will allow you to set your own high or low usage threshold. After selecting that, you will then select “Usage Alert”, then at the top of that page “Add New Alert”. Double-check your account information, if you have multiple accounts, and then you may enter the thresholds that you want to be alerted on.

Any member meeting the qualifications as set by the HILCO Electric BYLAWS.

A person becomes a credentialed director on the first full day after all course work necessary to earn the NRECA Credentialed Cooperative Directors Certification is completed.

A board member is compensated for the time spent serving the cooperative. This includes, but is not limited to, monthly electric board meetings, Brazos Electric board meetings, training sessions required by the HILCO ByLaws or recommended by NRECA, special committee member meetings, or representing the cooperative at other cooperative-related functions as deemed necessary by the board of directors. Based on information provided by NRECA, or national affiliate, the directors of HILCO are compensated similarly to other board members serving cooperatives of HILCO's size.