Understanding Your GEC Bill

Front of redesigned bill

1. Service address—This is the physical address where your meter is located. When discussing your account or reporting an outage, this is the address we will use.

2. Monthly use—This chart allows you to visualize the fluctuations in your use during the past 13 months. You can easily compare your most recent month’s use to the same month in the previous year. We also calculate your average kWh per day and cost per day for the most recent month. This is helpful to compare to your previous bill to determine the actual change in your daily use from the prior month.

3. Payment terms—This section includes dates for which disconnection and late fees will be imposed, and other payment terms.

Back of redesigned bill

4. Update contact information— Use the section on the back of the payment stub to keep your contact information up-to-date.

5. Meter number— Unique identifier for the meter to ensure accurate billing and payment. The meter number stays with the location, not the member.

6. Usage period— The starting and ending calendar dates for the billing cycle are shown in this section.

7. Days—The number of days in the billing period has a direct impact on your total bill, so it’s important to take note of this when comparing your bill to a previous cycle.

8. Meter multiplier—Residential service will have a meter multiplier of 1. Commercial or larger load services will have a meter multiplier greater than 1. The multiplier is required to compensate for the difference in the current transformer ratios for large loads.

9. Meter kWh—This shows how many kWh have been used during this billing cycle. It is the difference between the start and end reading.
Your meter is read automatically. GEC reads your meter each month using an automated meter reading (AMR) system. Your meter sends a reading electronically over the power lines.

10. Rate class—We have different rate classes such as residential, business and pump accounts, among others, that are based on electricity demand, system load and necessary infrastructure.

11. kWh charge—This is the rate at which your actual use is charged. For residential accounts, the first 1,000 kWh is charged at 10.25 cents per kWh. The kWh charge recovers the cost of your electricity. To partially account for the higher capacity equipment needed for the additional demand on the system, use exceeding 1,000 kWh is charged at 14 cents per kWh. This rate structure encourages conservation and reduces the impact of prices on low- and fixed-income members.

12. Power cost adjustment—This charge reflects the difference between the actual cost of purchased power from the wholesale power supplier and the base wholesale cost of power included in the energy (kWh) charge. Check out this Power Cost Adjustment video to learn more.

13. TIER tracker—To maintain a fiscally sound financial position, the cooperative aims to achieve a target operating margin over the course of a calendar year based on actual monthly data for prior months during the calendar year and estimated monthly data for the remaining months in the year. As necessary, the board of trustees may adjust this charge/credit to achieve the required operating margins.
If your bill includes a demand (kW) charge, this Managing your Demand flyer can help answer questions about the difference in demand (kW) and consumption (kWh).

14. Base charge—This is a flat monthly fee to cover two costs—the infrastructure in place to deliver power and the overhead not factored into the kWh charge. This amount is based on rate class.

15. Florida gross receipts—This is a 2.5641% tax imposed on the sale, delivery or transportation of natural gas, manufactured gas or electricity to retail consumers in Florida. The taxes collected are paid directly to the State of Florida.

16. Round Up amount—If you participate in Operation Round Up, your bill is rounded up to the next whole dollar amount to fund grants and assistance awards to local non-profit organizations and members in need. Your monthly contribution will never exceed 99 cents. Individuals in need and local non-profit organizations can submit applications to the Glades Electric Charitable Trust to receive assistance. If you don’t have a round-up amount on your bill and would like to be part of Operation Round Up, just check the box at the bottom of the back of the bill and return your payment stub, sign up through SmartHub or call Member Services at 863-946-6200 to join. Your pennies help change lives for those in need.

17. Vanilla Direct barcode—The barcode allows you to pay in cash at participating locations. It can be scanned at the register, allowing you to make your monthly payment. There is a $1.50 convenience fee to use this service. To find a location near you, visit https://pay.vanilladirect.com/pages/retailers.The majority of participating locations will accept cash payments up to a maximum of $500.00.