Sequachee Valley Electric Cooperative (SVEC) Rate Selection Guide
Sequachee Valley Electric Cooperative (SVEC) is a member-owned utility headquartered in South Pittsburg, Tennessee, serving roughly 39,284 customers across five southeast Tennessee counties. Its NISC iVUE billing system and SmartHub portal expose daily and hourly AMI usage data — with 15-minute data reachable only via an unofficial API — but SVEC has no Green Button, EDI, or third-party aggregator programs.
Market Overview
Member-owned Tennessee cooperative providing bundled electric service across five counties; no retail choice. Net metering questions and DER integration are handled directly by SVEC, with NISC DERMS capability potentially expanding.
Need to pull your actual usage data to compare rates? See the Sequachee Valley Electric Cooperative (SVEC) Data Access Guide →
Current Rate Schedules
Sequachee Valley Electric Cooperative (SVEC) is a TVA distributor serving roughly 39,000 members in Bledsoe, Grundy, Marion, and Sequatchie counties, Tennessee. Rates follow TVA's standard structure: a base energy/demand charge set under TVA's General Power Service schedules plus TVA's Total Monthly Fuel Charge, which changes monthly with TVA fuel costs. For May 2026 SVEC posts the small commercial GSA-1 class at $0.09277/kWh energy plus a $0.03060/kWh fuel charge (about 12.3¢/kWh all-in), and residential at $0.07674/kWh plus $0.03117/kWh fuel. Larger C&I accounts move into the TVA GSA Part 2 and Part 3 tiers, which add per-kW demand charges above 50 kW — SVEC posts current monthly rates at svalleyec.com/fees-and-rates.
Effective: May 1, 2026 · Full Tariff Book →
| Schedule | Type | Applicability | Structure | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GSA-1 – Small Commercial/Industrial (Class 40) | commercial | Commercial and industrial accounts with demand under 50 kW | Monthly customer charge plus energy at $0.09277/kWh and TVA Total Monthly Fuel Charge of $0.03060/kWh (May 2026); no demand charge under 50 kW | ~$0.123/kWh all-in (May 2026) |
| GSA Part 2 – General Power Service (50–1,000 kW) | commercial | Commercial and industrial accounts with demand between 50 kW and 1,000 kW | TVA-standard structure: no demand charge on the first 50 kW, per-kW demand charge on demand above 50 kW, with block energy rates (first 15,000 kWh at a higher rate, additional kWh lower) plus monthly fuel charge — see SVEC rate sheet for current figures | — |
| GSA Part 3 – General Power Service (1,001–5,000 kW) | industrial | Large commercial and industrial accounts with demand from 1,001 to 5,000 kW | Per-kW demand charges on all billing demand (tiered at 1,000 kW) with a single lower energy rate plus monthly fuel charge; loads above 5,000 kW take TVA manufacturing service contracts — see SVEC/TVA schedule for current figures | — |
Rate Recommendations by Use Case
Mid-size manufacturer or processor (50 kW – 1 MW)
Take GSA Part 2 and manage demand above the free first-50-kW block, using TVA's Comprehensive Services Program for engineering support.
Under the TVA GSA design, the first 50 kW carries no demand charge but every kW above it is billed monthly. SVEC and TVA jointly offer the Comprehensive Services Program (CSP), which provides demand-side management studies, electrical system testing, and peak-management recommendations to contract C&I members at little or no cost.
- Request a CSP demand-side management assessment through SVEC's commercial services team
- Stagger motor and HVAC starts to keep billing demand as close to the 50 kW free block as the operation allows
- Watch the block energy break at 15,000 kWh/month when forecasting bills
Small commercial storefront, church, or farm (<50 kW)
Stay on GSA-1 and focus on kWh efficiency — there is no demand charge to manage below 50 kW.
GSA-1 bills purely on consumption (~12.3¢/kWh all-in as of May 2026), so lighting, HVAC, and refrigeration efficiency translate dollar-for-dollar. Crossing 50 kW demand moves the account into demand billing, so loads near the threshold should avoid simultaneous equipment starts.
- Use SmartHub's hourly kWh views to spot after-hours waste
- LED and smart-thermostat retrofits hit the full all-in rate per kWh saved
- If demand approaches 50 kW, interlock large loads to avoid migrating to Part 2 demand billing
New or expanding industrial facility siting in the Sequatchie Valley
Engage SVEC economic development early — the co-op offers rate design flexibility, energy audits, and access to USDA REDLG financing.
SVEC explicitly advertises flexibility in rate design, power quality services, and site assistance for businesses starting, expanding, or relocating in its territory, and Tennessee co-ops are national leaders in channeling USDA Rural Economic Development Loan and Grant funds. Large loads may also qualify for TVA economic development incentives.
- Contact SVEC economic development before finalizing site or equipment decisions
- Ask about TVA investment credit and economic development rate programs for qualifying job-creating load
- Explore REDLG low-interest financing for facility infrastructure
Cost Optimization Strategies
As a TVA distributor, SVEC's controllable bill components are demand above 50 kW, consumption efficiency, and rate-class fit — the TVA fuel charge passes through monthly and is unmanageable except by using fewer kWh. The co-op's AMI metering and SmartHub hourly data make demand and waste visible, and the TVA Comprehensive Services Program puts professional engineering help within reach of mid-size members.
Manage demand above the 50 kW free block
For: GSA Part 2 customers (50–1,000 kW)
GSA Part 2 bills demand only on kW above 50, so the marginal cost of a peak excursion is the full per-kW charge. Use SmartHub hourly data to find peak-setting events and sequence equipment so large loads never coincide — facilities running 60-80 kW peaks can often engineer back toward the free block.
Use the TVA Comprehensive Services Program
For: Commercial and industrial members with existing power contracts
SVEC offers CSP to C&I members with a power contract: engineering assistance covering demand-side management, electrical system monitoring and testing, power quality, and process improvements. It is effectively a subsidized energy audit with TVA backing — request it before commissioning your own study.
Treat the fuel charge as a usage multiplier
For: All rate classes
TVA's Total Monthly Fuel Charge (around 3.1¢/kWh in May 2026) rides on every kWh and changes monthly. Efficiency projects should be evaluated at the all-in rate (energy + fuel, ~12.3¢/kWh for GSA-1), not the base energy rate alone — doing otherwise understates savings by roughly a third.
Verify rate class and block billing on large accounts
For: C&I accounts near the 50 kW or 1,000 kW thresholds
TVA GSA parts and energy blocks (15,000 kWh break, 50/1,000 kW demand tiers) make misclassification costly. Audit each meter's class annually against actual demand history, and confirm bills apply the correct block rates — accounts that have grown or shrunk often sit on the wrong part.
Leverage economic development and efficiency funding
For: Expanding businesses and members undertaking efficiency retrofits
SVEC channels USDA REDLG low-interest loans, offers energy audit services, and can flex rate design for expanding businesses. TVA's EnergyRight commercial programs add rebates for lighting, HVAC, and motor upgrades — stack these before self-funding capital projects.
To implement these strategies, you need your 15-minute interval data. Learn how to download Sequachee Valley Electric Cooperative (SVEC) interval data →
Frequently Asked Questions
How do commercial members access usage data from Sequachee Valley Electric?▾
Register at the SmartHub portal (https://svalleyec.smarthub.coop/) with your account number. The Usage section shows daily and hourly kWh consumption with multi-month history and trend comparisons; bills download as PDF and hourly usage exports as CSV. Note that all accounts had to re-register after the February SmartHub upgrade.
Can I get 15-minute interval data from SVEC?▾
Not through the standard portal. Since January 2024, SmartHub CSV export is limited to hourly granularity. The AMI meters do record 15-minute data, which the community electric-usage-downloader tool extracts via the reverse-engineered SmartHub API using your credentials — unofficial and unsupported, so review the terms of service first.
Does SVEC support Green Button, EDI, or aggregator integrations?▾
There is no Green Button CMD/DMD and no formal EDI trading partner program (despite NISC iVUE capability). Nectar provides API access to SVEC billing and interval data — see docs.nectarclimate.com. Otherwise, third-party access is limited to customer-shared exports or custom arrangements negotiated directly with SVEC at 423-837-8605.
How can an energy consultant get data for an SVEC-served facility?▾
Two paths: have the member export hourly CSV and PDF bills from SmartHub and share them with you, or contact SVEC directly to propose a custom data-sharing arrangement. For ongoing granular data, a technically capable customer can run the open-source SmartHub downloader to feed 15-minute data into CSV or a time-series database.
Is SVEC data available in real time?▾
No. SmartHub usage data appears with roughly a 1-2 hour delay. For demand monitoring, the hourly portal view (or 15-minute data via the unofficial API) is the practical ceiling; prepaid metering customers get additional usage alerts.
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