Gary De Young for Grand Valley Power Board

Why I voted against the November 1, 2025, rate increase

While I’m a member of the Grand Valley Power (GVP) Board, I do not speak for the board or GVP. What follows is my personal and professional assessment on the rate increase that started on November 1, 2025. I was the only board member to vote against it, here’s why.

This summer, I was elected to a second term. The main issue I raised during my campaign was how unfair GVP’s Time-of-Use (TOU) pricing was. Many working families with day jobs can’t take advantage of lower off-peak rates, and others who could still felt the system wasn’t fair. I suggested that prices should be leveled and reflect the actual cost of power during both peak and off-peak times. My goal was to make the rates fairer for all GVP members.

While GVP needed to raise rates because of increasing costs, I think adding a demand charge was unnecessary, unfair, and failed to address underlying issues. When I first joined the board, I created a public dashboard (Simplified Version, Full Versions) that shows the average relative cost of wholesale power at all hours of the day. It shows that the price difference between peak and off-peak should be about 1.4:1 or lower to be fair. But in the new rates, the ratio is over 2.2:1.

With net-metering, rooftop solar on GVP’s system doesn’t cause problems with wholesale power costs. But there are still costs for delivering power. This is where the lost sales shows up.

GVP could have split the price into power and delivery costs. Everyone would then pay a delivery fee for the power they use. People without solar would notice nothing since the costs are already combined. A net-metered customer who produces 100% of their power by exporting excess power to the grid during the day and importing it back at night typically imports 55-60% of their total consumed power. While solar customers might not like this, it would be a more transparent and fair way to recover lost revenue due to increasing solar use.

Some lost sales are also attributable to conservation. About 7% of GVP members own solar panels, while 93% do not. A small drop in power use from the 93% has the same effect as a larger drop from the 7%. Plus, newer buildings are more energy-efficient, which also lowers total power use. It’s important to look at all the reasons for the lost sales, not just blame solar owners. Questions like “Are non-solar members using less power?” or “How much less power are new homes using?” need to be answered.

The new rate adds a demand charge ($1/kW), which is based on the highest amount of power used in any 5-minute period during the month. For example, running my electric dryer (6 kW) at the same time as a toaster, tea kettle, oven, or air conditioning can quickly raise my demand charge. Most members will see a charge of at least $6, with some paying two or three times that amount. The off-peak rate has been lowered so that the average member will only see about a 4% increase. However, the demand charge will be hard for most members to control. A single 5-minute spike could affect the whole month’s bill. This demand charge will be especially hard for low-consumption users, as they have little chance to manage the fee.

GVP is a cooperative, and members deserve to know what’s going on. Unfortunately, the GVP rate increase was discussed only in private executive sessions, even though I motioned to have the discussion in a public meeting. My motion failed because no one seconded it. Members should be able to see the conversations about rate changes, not have them hidden in private meetings. Also, the rate increase was announced with just 30 days' notice, the minimum required by state law, leaving very little time for members to participate or give feedback.

1. Attend board meetings and share your thoughts.
2. Vote in the next election.
3. Consider running for the board to help shape GVP’s future.

GVP members deserve better when it comes to fairness and transparency.

There are many ways to set up a rate, and while there isn’t one “right” way, there are definitely better ways. For now, though, the new rates will stay until the board decides to change them.