Caney Fork Electric Cooperative Rate Selection Guide
Caney Fork Electric Cooperative (CFEC), founded in 1940, is a member-owned cooperative serving about 35,900 customers across four Middle Tennessee counties. Members access PDF bills and daily kWh usage through the MyUsage web/mobile platform, but CFEC documents no Green Button, EDI, API, or third-party data program — interval data beyond daily aggregation isn't exposed, and third parties must work through regional business offices.
Market Overview
Tennessee has no retail electric choice. CFEC publishes its retail rate schedule (April 2025) and governing policies, including Billing, Collecting and Termination Policy #210, on its website; commercial customers take GSA 1 and GSA 2 schedules.
Need to pull your actual usage data to compare rates? See the Caney Fork Electric Cooperative Data Access Guide →
Current Rate Schedules
Caney Fork Electric Cooperative is a TVA distributor, so retail rates move monthly with TVA's wholesale fuel cost adjustment — the cooperative publishes a rolling 12-month Retail Rate Schedule PDF showing each month's effective rates. Commercial service follows TVA's GSA structure: GSA 1 for loads under 50 kW (energy-only), GSA 2 for 51-1,000 kW (blocked energy plus demand charges above 50 kW), and GSA 3 for 1,001-5,000 kW (flat energy plus per-kW demand), with a seasonal TOU schedule (MSB TOU, $1,500/month customer charge) for the largest loads. Figures below are from the July 2025 schedule; check the current PDF since rates change monthly.
Effective: July 1, 2025 · Full Tariff Book →
| Schedule | Type | Applicability | Structure | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GSA 1 — General Service (under 50 kW) | commercial | Small commercial accounts with demand below 50 kW, split into low-usage (0-500 kWh) and high-usage (501+ kWh) tiers. | Basic meter fee of $32.13/month (low usage) or $42.75/month (high usage) plus a single energy rate on all kWh — about $0.122-0.137/kWh across 2025, varying monthly with TVA fuel costs. No demand charge. | ~$0.126/kWh (July 2025; varies monthly with TVA fuel adjustment) |
| GSA 2 — General Service (51-1,000 kW) | commercial | Mid-size commercial and light industrial accounts with demand between 51 and 1,000 kW. | $171.56/month customer charge; blocked energy at ~$0.092/kWh for the first 15,000 kWh and ~$0.067/kWh thereafter (July 2025); demand billed at $7.50/kW for the first 50 kW and $16.85/kW for additional kW. All rates adjust monthly with TVA fuel costs. | ~$0.092/kWh first 15,000 kWh, ~$0.067/kWh additional (July 2025)+ $7.50/kW first 50 kW; $16.85/kW additional (July 2025) |
| GSA 3 — General Service (1,001-5,000 kW) | industrial | Large industrial loads between 1,001 and 5,000 kW, including manufacturing around McMinnville and Sparta. | $554.88/month customer charge, flat energy rate (~$0.074/kWh in July 2025) on all kWh, and demand at ~$16.43/kW on all billing demand. Rates adjust monthly with TVA fuel costs. | ~$0.074/kWh (July 2025; varies monthly)+ ~$16.43/kW all billing demand (July 2025) |
| MSB TOU — Manufacturing Service Time-of-Use | industrial | The cooperative's largest manufacturing loads taking seasonal time-of-use service. | $1,500/month customer charge with seasonal (summer/winter/transition) TOU energy and demand pricing per the TVA seasonal calendar. See the Retail Rate Schedule PDF for current period rates. | —+ Seasonal TOU demand charges; see current schedule |
Rate Recommendations by Use Case
C&I usage monitoring on GSA schedules
Use MyUsage daily kWh data with temperature correlation to baseline consumption and catch anomalies.
Daily aggregation is the finest data CFEC exposes; paired with the built-in temperature overlay it supports weather-normalized monitoring without exports.
- Enable daily kWh usage alerts during account setup
- Review 24-hour and monthly views for load pattern shifts
- Download bill PDFs monthly for cost records
Third-party energy management for member accounts
Coordinate through CFEC's regional business offices with customer-authorized manual exports.
Without an authorization portal or API, the sanctioned path is a direct office arrangement; member-exported MyUsage files beat credential sharing for security.
- Call McMinnville (931-473-3116) and ask specifically about Green Button, authorization forms, and aggregator options
- Have members export and share bills/data files rather than logins
- Set a recurring export cadence for ongoing engagements
Automated integration for energy software
Treat CFEC as a manual-collection utility — no API, EDI, or Green Button channel exists today.
The MyUsage platform has no third-party developer interface, so platforms must rely on member-shared files or office-arranged exports until standards are adopted.
- Recheck periodically for Green Button or ESPI adoption
- Route EDI inquiries to the business office with company details
- Parse PDF bills programmatically as the interim data source
Cost Optimization Strategies
As a TVA distributor, Caney Fork's rates change monthly with the TVA fuel cost adjustment and follow the GSA class structure, so the main levers are demand management on GSA 2/3, landing in the right GSA class, and exploiting the free TVA-backed energy services the cooperative offers commercial members — including power bill analysis covering rates, demand charges, and power factor.
Peak Demand Management on GSA 2/3
For: GSA 2 and GSA 3 accounts
GSA 2 bills additional kW above 50 at $16.85/kW and GSA 3 bills all demand around $16.43/kW — among the costlier demand rates in the region. Staggering motor starts, sequencing HVAC, and scheduling batch processes off-peak directly cuts the largest controllable line item.
Free Power Bill Analysis and TVA Energy Services
For: All commercial and industrial members
Caney Fork, with TVA assistance, offers commercial members free power bill analysis breaking down rate, demand charges, and power factor, plus tailored energy services. Call 931-473-3116 to schedule — it is the fastest way to validate rate class and find demand or power factor issues.
GSA Class Boundary Verification
For: Accounts near 50 kW or 1,000 kW demand thresholds
The jump between GSA 1 (energy-only) and GSA 2 (demand-billed, lower energy rates) at 50 kW changes bill structure fundamentally, as does the GSA 2/GSA 3 boundary at 1,000 kW. Accounts near a threshold should model both classes with 12 months of data — the blocked GSA 2 energy rate also rewards keeping monthly usage above 15,000 kWh on the cheaper second block.
Monthly TVA Fuel Adjustment Tracking
For: All rate classes
Every rate component moves monthly with TVA's fuel cost adjustment — 2025 energy rates swung roughly 10% across the year. Capture each month's published schedule for bill validation and budget energy costs on a band rather than a single rate.
Power Factor Correction
For: GSA 2/3 facilities with large motor loads
TVA-structured GSA rates penalize poor power factor at larger loads. Motor-heavy facilities should use the cooperative's free power factor review and install capacitor banks where corrections pay back — typically quickly at GSA 3 demand rates.
To implement these strategies, you need your 15-minute interval data. Learn how to download Caney Fork Electric Cooperative interval data →
Frequently Asked Questions
What usage data granularity can C&I customers get from Caney Fork EC?▾
Daily kWh only. CFEC's AMI meters collect more, but MyUsage exposes daily aggregation with temperature correlation in 24-hour and monthly views — no 15/30-minute or hourly downloads are documented. Multiple months of history are visible with no documented limit.
Does CFEC support Green Button, EDI, or an API?▾
None are documented. There is no Green Button DMD/CMD, no ESPI implementation, no EDI trading partner program, and no public API or developer portal. For verified current capabilities, call the McMinnville office at 931-473-3116.
How do consultants or aggregators get data for CFEC member accounts?▾
Through the regional business offices. There is no automated authorization portal — call 931-473-3116 or 1-888-505-3030, ask about authorization forms and data-sharing options, and otherwise have the member export bills and usage from MyUsage and share the files. Avoid credential sharing.
How do commercial members set up MyUsage access?▾
Register at myusage.com selecting State = TN and Utility = Caney Fork EC, then enter the 12-digit account number (with hyphen) plus a meter number or last bill amount, verify by email, and choose eBill or print delivery. PDF bills and daily usage are available immediately; GSA 1 and GSA 2 accounts use the same platform.
Is Caney Fork EC in a deregulated market?▾
No. Tennessee has no retail electric choice. CFEC is a member-owned nonprofit cooperative distributing TVA power across DeKalb, Warren, White, and Van Buren counties, with rates published in its retail rate schedule (commercial classes GSA 1 and GSA 2).
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