Medina Electric Cooperative, Inc. Rate Selection Guide
Medina Electric Cooperative serves ~21,850 members across 36,300+ meters in a 10,750-square-mile South Texas territory inside ERCOT's footprint but outside the deregulated retail zone. Smart meters record 15-minute intervals, exportable as Green Button ESPI XML through NISC SmartHub with up to 14 months of history — but there is no EDI, Connect My Data, or official API, so third-party access runs through member-shared exports.
Market Overview
Although ERCOT-interconnected, Medina EC's territory sits outside Texas's competitive retail zone: the cooperative is the bundled provider and members have no REP choice. This limits Smart Meter Texas and third-party data-platform options that exist in deregulated areas; SmartHub is the official data access point.
Need to pull your actual usage data to compare rates? See the Medina Electric Cooperative, Inc. Data Access Guide →
Current Rate Schedules
Medina Electric Cooperative sets rates by account class — residential, general service, farm/ranch, irrigation, and small/large commercial. As a not-for-profit cooperative under South Texas Electric Cooperative's wholesale supply, rates recover cost of service plus a power cost adjustment (PCA) applied per kWh. Large commercial accounts (Rate 510/511) carry a demand charge and a declining-block energy structure tied to billing kW, while general service accounts pay a flat energy charge with a $35 monthly minimum. The full tariff (effective April 1, 2026) is posted on the co-op's website.
Effective: April 1, 2026 · Full Tariff Book →
| Schedule | Type | Applicability | Structure | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Small Commercial / General Service | commercial | Small businesses, offices, and shops with transformer capacity at or near 15 kVA; no demand metering. | $32.00 customer service charge per meter per month, $1.50 per kVA capacity charge for transformer capacity above 15 kVA, and a flat energy charge of $0.108347/kWh on all kWh, plus power cost adjustment. | $0.108347/kWh plus PCA |
| Large Commercial — Rate 510/511 | commercial | Larger commercial and industrial accounts with measured demand — oil and gas facilities, warehouses, manufacturing, and office buildings. | $75 customer service charge per meter per month, $3.50 per billing kW demand charge, and declining-block energy charges: $0.105973/kWh for the first 200 kWh per billing kW, $0.070973/kWh for the next 200 kWh per billing kW, and $0.060973/kWh for excess kWh, plus power cost adjustment. | $0.060973–$0.105973/kWh by block, plus PCA+ $3.50/kW per month on all billing kW |
| Irrigation Service | agricultural | Agricultural irrigation pumping loads across Medina EC's rural service area. | Separate irrigator rate class with seasonal usage patterns; service charge plus per-kWh energy charge and PCA. See tariff for current rates. | — |
| Distributed Generation Rider | commercial | Members interconnecting solar, wind, or other DG up to 10 MW; systems above 700 kW also require South Texas Electric Cooperative review. | Excess generation credited at avoided wholesale power cost (prior 12-month average wholesale energy cost excluding demand/transmission). One-time application fees from $0 (≤10 kW) to $1,000 (1–10 MW); monthly service charge for systems over 1 MW. | — |
Rate Recommendations by Use Case
Oil & gas field operations and pumping loads
Pump jacks, compressors, and gathering facilities across Medina EC's South Texas territory typically land on Large Commercial Rate 510/511 once demand is metered.
The declining-block structure rewards high load factor: energy beyond 400 kWh per billing kW drops to $0.060973/kWh, so steady 24/7 pumping loads see a much lower blended rate than intermittent operations. The $3.50/kW demand charge is modest compared to IOU tariffs.
- Run continuous loads at a steady draw to push more kWh into the $0.060973 excess block
- Stagger motor starts on multi-well pads to avoid setting demand peaks above operating needs
- Right-size transformer capacity — the $1.50/kVA capacity charge applies to capacity above 15 kVA on small commercial accounts
Warehouses, offices, and retail under ~50 kW
Small commercial accounts without significant demand stay on the general service commercial rate with a flat energy charge.
At $0.108347/kWh flat with a $32 service charge, billing is simple and predictable. Once load grows enough that demand metering applies, compare against Rate 510/511 — high-load-factor accounts often pay less under the demand rate's cheaper energy blocks.
- Track monthly kWh and estimated kW; ask Medina EC for a rate comparison when demand regularly exceeds ~20–30 kW
- Watch the power cost adjustment line — it moves with South Texas Electric Cooperative wholesale costs
- Keep transformer capacity at or below 15 kVA where feasible to avoid the capacity charge
Agricultural irrigation and ranch operations
Irrigation pumping across the co-op's 10,750-square-mile rural footprint qualifies for the dedicated irrigator rate class.
Medina EC maintains a separate irrigation class sized to seasonal pumping patterns rather than year-round commercial billing — see the tariff for current charges. Seasonal accounts should note the $35 monthly minimum that applies in low-use months.
- Confirm the correct rate class with Medina EC when adding or upsizing pumps
- Budget for the $35 monthly minimum in non-irrigating months
- Consider VFDs on large pumps to smooth demand and reduce mechanical wear
On-site solar for commercial facilities
Commercial members can interconnect DG up to 10 MW under Medina EC's DG tariff, with excess output credited at avoided wholesale cost.
Because exports are credited only at avoided wholesale cost (not retail), systems sized to self-consumption deliver the best economics — offsetting retail energy at $0.06–$0.11/kWh rather than exporting at the lower wholesale credit.
- Size systems to on-site daytime load; avoid heavy export given the wholesale-only credit
- Plan for the interconnection fee tier: $250 (11–50 kW), $700 (51 kW–1 MW), $1,000 (1–10 MW)
- Systems over 700 kW need separate South Texas Electric Cooperative review — build that into project timelines
Cost Optimization Strategies
Medina EC members optimize costs by mining 15-minute Green Button data for load-shape opportunities, validating bills against the published tariff, and evaluating distributed generation.
Analyze 15-minute load shape
For: Commercial members with meaningful load
Export Green Button XML (up to 14 months of 15-minute data) and identify peaks, base-load waste, and scheduling opportunities — the most granular cooperative data available without an API.
Validate bills against the tariff
For: All members
Cross-check billed charges against the published tariff (effective April 1, 2026) and request free meter testing if accuracy is in question (no charge if not tested in the prior 4 years).
Evaluate distributed generation
For: Members with solar/wind potential
Net-metered solar/wind earns a Distributed Generation Credit tracked in SmartHub; pair DG sizing analysis with 15-minute consumption data for accurate payback modeling.
Automate monitoring carefully
For: Technically sophisticated members
Technical teams can self-host electric-usage-downloader for continuous 15-minute monitoring, but should weigh terms-of-service risk; for most members, scheduled Green Button exports are the safer routine.
To implement these strategies, you need your 15-minute interval data. Learn how to download Medina Electric Cooperative, Inc. interval data →
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I get 15-minute interval data from Medina Electric Cooperative?▾
Log into SmartHub at https://medinaec.smarthub.coop/, open My Usage, and use Green Button Download My Data: pick a date range (up to 14 months) and the 15-minute interval option, then download the zipped ESPI XML. The file imports into any Green Button-compatible platform for load-shape analysis.
Can third parties access Medina EC data automatically?▾
No official path exists — no Connect My Data, OAuth, or aggregator integrations. The practical approach is member-shared Green Button XML files collected monthly or quarterly. The reverse-engineered SmartHub JSON API pulls 15-minute data programmatically but is unofficial, may change without notice, and violates SmartHub terms of service.
Does Smart Meter Texas cover Medina EC accounts?▾
Not in practice. Medina EC is ERCOT-interconnected but its full service area is non-deregulated (bundled cooperative model), and SMT access is not promoted on the cooperative's website. SmartHub is the official data access point; Smart Meter Texas options that exist in competitive retail areas largely don't apply here.
Does Medina EC support EDI?▾
No. There is no EDI section in the tariff, no trading partner application, and no ANSI X12 references. Texas SET guides and ERCOT protocols cover wholesale and REP interactions — not bundled cooperative retail customers. Businesses needing structured exchange should contact 1-866-632-3532, but should plan on SmartHub portal data or PDFs.
Who do I contact at Medina EC about a formal data partnership?▾
Email Info@MedinaEC.org or BusinessDevelopment@MedinaEC.org and request escalation to the CIO (Doug Kindred) or Chief Member Relations Officer (Katie Haby), or use the management contact form. Bring a concrete business case, data requirements, technical architecture, and timeline — and expect a lengthy case-by-case negotiation since no formal program exists.
What does Nectar's roadmap support level mean for Medina EC?▾
Medina EC is on Nectar's roadmap: automated ingestion is planned but not yet productized. Today, Nectar ingests member-exported Green Button ESPI XML (15-minute granularity, up to 14 months) and billing PDFs from SmartHub while a native integration path is evaluated.
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