Meriwether Lewis Electric Cooperative (MLEC) Rate Selection Guide
Meriwether Lewis Electric Cooperative (MLEC) is a member-owned TVA local power company serving about 36,800 meters across five western-middle Tennessee counties. Advanced meters were deployed county-by-county from 2022 through 2024 over the co-op's MLConnect broadband network, but customer data access stays portal-based: the Meridian billing portal and MLECgo app, with no confirmed Green Button, EDI, or public API.
Market Overview
MLEC operates as a member-owned distribution cooperative and TVA Local Power Company. Members take bundled service with cooperative-set rates under TVA wholesale supply; Tennessee Regulatory Authority rules cover meter operations and data retention but impose no third-party data access mandate.
Need to pull your actual usage data to compare rates? See the Meriwether Lewis Electric Cooperative (MLEC) Data Access Guide →
Current Rate Schedules
MLEC is a TVA Local Power Company, so retail rates pass through TVA wholesale pricing plus the cooperative's distribution charges. Every class carries a monthly TVA Fuel Cost Adjustment (FCA) on energy charges — MLEC retains none of that revenue — and since December 2025 TVA seasonal pricing (summer/winter/transition) flows through directly. Commercial accounts fall under the General Power (GSA) rate, split into three parts by demand: under 50 kW, 51–1,000 kW, and 1,001–5,000 kW. MLEC posts a fresh rate schedule each month at mlec.com/rates; figures below are representative — see the current month's schedule for exact charges.
Effective: May 1, 2026 · Full Tariff Book →
| Schedule | Type | Applicability | Structure | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GSA Part 1 — Small General Power | commercial | Single- or three-phase commercial accounts under 50 kW demand and under 15,000 kWh/month. | Basic MLEC service charge (~$64.50–$65.75/month) plus a flat energy charge on all kWh (~$0.082/kWh base) with monthly TVA FCA adder. No demand charge. | ~$0.08 base + FCA per kWh; see current monthly schedule |
| GSA Part 2 — Medium General Power | commercial | Commercial accounts with 51–1,000 kW demand or over 15,000 kWh/month. | Basic service charge (~$261.50/month), demand charges (no charge or low rate on first 50 kW, ~$15.75/kW on 51–1,000 kW), and blocked energy: ~$0.062/kWh on the first 15,000 kWh, ~$0.040/kWh on additional kWh, each plus TVA FCA. Seasonal pricing applies. | ~$0.040–$0.062/kWh base by block + FCA+ ~$15.75/kW on demand above 50 kW (see current schedule) |
| GSA Part 3 — Large General Power | industrial | Large commercial and industrial accounts with contracted demand of 1,001–5,000 kW. | Basic service charge (~$1,008/month), demand charges (~$14.76/kW first 1,000 kW, ~$15.98/kW for 1,001–5,000 kW), and a flat energy charge on all kWh (~$0.042/kWh base) plus TVA FCA. Seasonal pricing applies. | ~$0.042/kWh base + FCA+ ~$14.76–$15.98/kW per month |
| Outdoor Lighting / Other TVA Schedules | commercial | Security and outdoor lighting, plus TVA-standard schedules for loads above 5,000 kW (served via TVA directly). | Flat monthly charges per fixture for lighting; very large loads negotiate TVA manufacturing/large-power schedules. See the current monthly rate schedule for details. | — |
Rate Recommendations by Use Case
Small retail, offices, and farm shops under 50 kW
Most small businesses in MLEC territory bill under GSA Part 1 — a simple flat energy rate with no demand charge.
With no demand component, Part 1 keeps billing predictable. The watch item is the 50 kW / 15,000 kWh threshold: crossing either moves you to Part 2 with its $15+/kW demand charge but much cheaper tail-block energy, which can cut either way depending on load factor.
- Track monthly kWh against the 15,000 kWh threshold — a single high month can shift your classification
- Watch the monthly TVA FCA line; energy costs move month to month even when base rates don't
- Shift discretionary load away from TVA summer and winter peak seasons where seasonal pricing is highest
Manufacturing, processing, and large facilities 51–1,000 kW
Mid-size industrial loads in Hickman, Houston, Humphreys, Lewis, and Perry counties bill under GSA Part 2 with demand charges and blocked energy.
Demand at ~$15.75/kW typically represents 30–40% of a Part 2 bill, so peak management is the dominant lever. Energy beyond the first 15,000 kWh drops to roughly $0.040/kWh base, rewarding high-load-factor operations.
- Stagger large motor starts and HVAC recovery to avoid coincident 30-minute demand peaks
- Improve load factor — the more kWh per kW of peak, the lower your blended rate
- Reconcile your bill against the current month's posted schedule; MLEC updates rates monthly with TVA's FCA
Large industrial accounts above 1,000 kW
Contracted loads of 1,001–5,000 kW take GSA Part 3 with the lowest energy rate (~$0.042/kWh base) and the highest fixed/demand structure.
Part 3's flat low energy charge favors continuous operations, but demand charges on the full contracted level make accurate contract demand sizing critical — over-contracting locks in cost for capacity you never use.
- Right-size contracted demand annually based on actual interval peaks
- Discuss TVA economic development and demand response options with MLEC for loads of this scale
- Coordinate planned outages and maintenance with billing-period peaks in mind
Cost Optimization Strategies
MLEC rates pass through TVA wholesale costs, so optimization centers on three things: managing billed demand under GSA Part 2/3, riding the monthly FCA and seasonal price signals, and exploiting the declining-block energy structure with high load factor. Because MLEC posts a new rate schedule monthly, bill verification is unusually valuable here.
Peak demand management
For: GSA Part 2 and Part 3 accounts
Stagger motor starts, sequence HVAC and process equipment, and use controls to cap the monthly 30-minute peak that sets the demand charge.
Load factor improvement
For: Manufacturing and continuous-process loads
Push more production into off-peak hours and smooth output so more kWh fall into the cheap tail blocks (~$0.040/kWh Part 2 additional kWh, ~$0.042/kWh Part 3) relative to peak kW.
Seasonal load scheduling
For: All commercial classes
TVA seasonal pricing (effective December 2025) raises energy charges in summer and winter peaks. Schedule maintenance shutdowns and defer flexible loads into transition months where feasible.
Monthly bill verification against posted schedules
For: All C&I accounts
MLEC publishes a fresh rate schedule each month reflecting the TVA FCA. Reconcile billed energy and demand charges against the posted schedule and confirm correct GSA part classification as load grows.
TVA efficiency and demand response programs
For: C&I accounts of all sizes; DR for large loads
As a TVA Local Power Company, MLEC members can access TVA EnergyRight business incentives for lighting, HVAC, and process efficiency upgrades, and large loads can explore TVA interruptible/demand response offerings.
To implement these strategies, you need your 15-minute interval data. Learn how to download Meriwether Lewis Electric Cooperative (MLEC) interval data →
Frequently Asked Questions
How do commercial customers access billing data from Meriwether Lewis Electric Cooperative?▾
Register at https://billing.mlec.com/ to view current and historical statements, balance, and usage patterns, with the MLECgo app for mobile. Statement viewing is confirmed (typically PDF); CSV/XML export is not publicly documented, so email power@mlec.com to ask about export options for bulk analysis.
Does MLEC have interval data from its smart meters?▾
MLEC finished deploying advanced two-way meters across all five counties by end of 2024, communicating over its MLConnect broadband network. The portal shows daily usage graphs, but the configured interval (likely 30-minute or hourly) is not published — confirm with power@mlec.com or (931) 729-3558 before scoping demand analysis.
Can a consultant or aggregator pull MLEC member data automatically?▾
Not through any official utility channel — MLEC has no Green Button or API of its own. Options: submit a written customer authorization to power@mlec.com for manual delivery (5-10 business days), or use Nectar, which provides API access to MLEC billing data via customer-authorized retrieval — see docs.nectarclimate.com.
Does MLEC support Green Button or EDI?▾
Neither is documented. Green Button DMD/CMD support is unconfirmed and likely absent (typical for co-ops under 50,000 customers), and no EDI trading partner program exists. MLEC's Meridian CIS platform can support REST APIs at advanced subscription tiers, so a partner integration is theoretically possible — ask MLEC directly.
Can MLEC members shop for a competitive electricity supplier?▾
No. MLEC is a TVA Local Power Company in regulated Tennessee: TVA supplies wholesale power and the member-owned cooperative sets retail rates. With no supplier choice, cost optimization focuses on rate review, load management, and using usage data from the Meridian portal to find efficiency opportunities.
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