Cedar Falls Utilities (CFU) Rate Selection Guide
Cedar Falls Utilities (CFU) is a community-owned municipal utility delivering electric, natural gas, water, and broadband to Cedar Falls, Iowa — roughly 35,000 combined accounts including about 20,000 electric customers. C&I customers download up to 25 months of PDF bills from the My Accounts portal, but CFU has no AMI deployment, interval data, Green Button, EDI, or API; third-party access is a manual, authorization-based request through customer service.
Market Overview
Community-owned municipal utility; locally set rates, no retail supplier choice in Iowa.
Need to pull your actual usage data to compare rates? See the Cedar Falls Utilities (CFU) Data Access Guide →
Current Rate Schedules
Cedar Falls Utilities (CFU) is a municipal utility whose Board of Trustees sets electric, gas, and water rates annually, effective each January 1. Commercial electric rates have three components: a per-meter service charge, a base energy rate, and a Net Energy Cost Adjustment (ECA) that passes through wholesale power costs each billing period. Commercial customers with demand above 50 kW also pay a demand charge based on the highest 15-minute interval load of the billing month, with an 11-month 75% demand ratchet on the large-volume schedule. All rate schedules are published as PDFs on the CFU website.
Effective: January 1, 2025 · Full Tariff Book →
| Schedule | Type | Applicability | Structure | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| EL-300 General Service | commercial | Commercial or light industrial enterprises at one location with single-meter demand of 50 kW or less for at least 8 months of a 12-month period. | $39.75/mo basic service charge plus declining-block energy: $0.0700/kWh for the first 4,000 kWh and $0.0518/kWh above 4,000 kWh, plus Energy Cost Adjustment and Revenue Giveback Adjustment each billing period. No demand charge. | $0.0518-$0.0700/kWh + ECA |
| EL-360 Large-Volume Power Service | industrial | Large-volume commercial and industrial customers above 50 kW demand — manufacturing, foundries, warehouses/distribution, large retail and grocery, large office buildings, and similar loads. | $225.00/mo basic service charge; demand charge of $0/kW on the first 50 kW, $6.25/kW on the next 950 kW, and $4.30/kW over 1,000 kW; hours-use energy blocks from $0.0495/kWh down to $0.0240/kWh over 310 hours x kW. Billing demand is the highest 15-minute kW of the month, with a minimum of 75% of the highest demand from the preceding 11 months (ratchet). | $0.0240-$0.0495/kWh + ECA+ $6.25/kW (51-1,000 kW); $4.30/kW over 1,000 kW |
| EL-250 Demand Space Heating | commercial | Commercial customers with electric space heating loads served under demand metering. | $120.00/mo basic service charge; demand charge of $7.10/kW on all measured kW; hours-use energy blocks of $0.0305/kWh for the first 180 hours x kW and $0.0250/kWh beyond, plus ECA. | —+ $7.10/kW all measured demand |
| General Time-of-Use | commercial | Commercial or light industrial customers (50 kW or less) who can shift consumption to off-peak hours; voluntary alternative to EL-300. | $55.85/mo basic service charge; seasonal TOU energy pricing of $0.0845/kWh on-peak / $0.0656/kWh off-peak in summer (June-September) and $0.0710/kWh on-peak / $0.0609/kWh off-peak October-May, plus ECA. | $0.0609-$0.0845/kWh by period + ECA |
Rate Recommendations by Use Case
Manufacturing or distribution facility over 50 kW
Plants, foundries, and warehouses in Cedar Falls take service under EL-360 Large-Volume Power Service, where demand charges and an 11-month ratchet dominate the bill.
EL-360's declining demand blocks ($6.25/kW then $4.30/kW over 1,000 kW) and hours-use energy blocks reward high load factor. Because billing demand is never less than 75% of the highest demand in the prior 11 months, a single summer peak inflates bills for nearly a year.
- Stagger startup of large motors and compressors to avoid setting a new 15-minute peak.
- Track your highest 15-minute demand monthly — one ratchet-setting event costs you for 11 months.
- Improve load factor: the hours-use energy blocks drop to $0.0240/kWh once you exceed 310 hours x kW.
Small commercial storefront or office under 50 kW
Retail shops, offices, and restaurants under 50 kW demand default to EL-300 General Service with simple declining-block energy pricing and no demand charge.
EL-300 keeps billing simple at $0.0700/kWh for the first 4,000 kWh and $0.0518/kWh beyond. Businesses that can run loads evenings and weekends should price out the General Time-of-Use option, where off-peak energy is as low as $0.0609/kWh against an $0.0845/kWh summer on-peak.
- Compare EL-300 vs. General TOU using 12 months of bills before switching — the TOU service charge is higher ($55.85 vs. $39.75/mo).
- Schedule HVAC pre-cooling and water heating off-peak if on the TOU schedule.
- Watch the Energy Cost Adjustment line — it moves monthly with CFU's wholesale power costs.
Facility with electric space heating
Commercial buildings heating with electricity can take service under EL-250 Demand Space Heating, which prices heating energy at $0.0250-$0.0305/kWh.
EL-250 trades a $7.10/kW demand charge and $120/mo service charge for energy rates roughly half the General Service block rate, which pencils out for buildings with sustained winter heating loads and good load factor.
- Verify metering requirements with CFU before specifying electric heat — demand metering is required.
- Use setback thermostats to flatten morning warm-up peaks that drive the $7.10/kW charge.
- Ask CFU about the Curtailment Service Credit Rider if you can shed heating load on request.
Cost Optimization Strategies
CFU sets rates annually each January, and commercial bills above 50 kW are driven by 15-minute demand peaks, an 11-month demand ratchet on EL-360, and the monthly Energy Cost Adjustment. Because CFU has no AMI interval data or Green Button feed, optimization starts with disciplined bill tracking and on-site submetering.
Demand peak management
For: EL-360 and EL-250 customers with demand charges
Billing demand on EL-360 and EL-250 is set by your single highest 15-minute interval. Sequence motor starts, interlock large loads, and use building automation to cap coincident demand — on EL-360 the ratchet means one peak sets a 75% floor for 11 months.
Load factor improvement
For: Large-volume industrial and high-use commercial customers
CFU's hours-use energy blocks reward flat load profiles: EL-360 energy drops from $0.0495 to $0.0240/kWh past 310 hours x kW. Shifting batch processes to off-shift hours pushes more kWh into the cheapest block without raising peak demand.
Time-of-use schedule election
For: Commercial customers under 50 kW demand
Sub-50 kW businesses with flexible schedules can elect General Time-of-Use and run discretionary loads off-peak at $0.0609-$0.0656/kWh instead of the $0.0700/kWh General Service first block. Model both schedules against 12 months of usage before switching.
Energy efficiency rebates
For: All commercial and industrial customers
CFU offers commercial efficiency programs and EE rate variants (EL-300EE, EL-360EE schedules appear in the tariff book). Lighting, HVAC, and motor upgrades cut both energy blocks and the demand that sets the ratchet — contact CFU energy services for current incentives.
Manual bill data tracking
For: All C&I customers; essential given CFU's limited data access
With no interval data, Green Button, or API access at CFU, build a monthly capture process from PDF bills (25 months available in the portal). Trend demand, ECA, and block usage to catch ratchet events and rate-class misassignments early.
To implement these strategies, you need your 15-minute interval data. Learn how to download Cedar Falls Utilities (CFU) interval data →
Frequently Asked Questions
How do C&I customers access billing data from Cedar Falls Utilities?▾
Register at https://myaccounts.cfu.net/registrationlookup with the 10-digit account number, then download up to 25 months of bills as PDFs from the Billing History section. Older data requires a request to customer service at 319-268-5280. Monthly aggregate usage appears on the bill itself; there is no CSV or structured export.
Is interval or smart meter data available from CFU?▾
No. CFU has not deployed AMI — meters are read monthly by staff — so no 15-minute, 30-minute, or hourly data exists for any customer class. Commercial customers needing deeper usage analysis should contact the Director of Energy Resources at 319-268-5384 and express interest in future smart-meter deployment.
Does CFU support Green Button, EDI, or an API?▾
None of the three. CFU has no Green Button DMD/CMD, no EDI trading-partner program (810/820/867), and no REST API or developer portal. The practical automation path is Nectar, which provides API access to CFU billing data — see docs.nectarclimate.com — with explicit customer authorization, or manual PDF retrieval.
How does a consultant get authorized access to a customer's CFU data?▾
Obtain a written authorization letter from the account holder covering the account number, data scope, and your organization, then submit it to customerservice@cfunet.net or 319-268-5280. CFU verifies the authorization (sometimes directly with the customer) and delivers PDFs by email or mail in about 3-5 business days. For volume relationships, contact Business Development at 319-268-5226.
Who sets CFU's rates and is supplier choice available?▾
CFU is community-owned and sets its own electric, gas, and water rates with local governance; Iowa has no retail supplier choice. All current rate schedules and service policies are published as PDFs at cfu.net under Rates & Service Policies.
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