South River Electric Membership Corporation Rate Selection Guide
South River Electric Membership Corporation (SREMC) is a member-owned electric cooperative serving roughly 48,000 accounts across five counties in southeastern North Carolina. Billing data is available through the Meridian Customer Portal, with daily usage via the SmartView program; SREMC has not published a formal Green Button, public API, or EDI program, so granular interval and third-party data access requires direct coordination with the cooperative.
South River Electric Membership Corporation Rate Schedule Comparison
| Schedule | Type | Rate | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small General Service (SGS) | commercial | 15.80¢→11.20¢/kWh tiered; $45/$81 grid access | Small commercial sites under demand metering thresholds |
| Medium General Service (MGS) | commercial | 5.43¢/kWh + $6.80/kW demand | Mid-size demand-metered facilities |
| Large General Service (LGS) | industrial | 4.78¢/kWh + $10.56/kW demand | Large steady-load C&I and industrial accounts |
| Large General Service TOU (LGS-TOU) | industrial | on-peak 6.23¢ / off-peak 4.73¢ / super off-peak 4.38¢ per kWh | Large accounts able to shift load off-peak |
Market Overview
North Carolina retains a regulated, vertically integrated electricity market with no retail choice for cooperative members. As a member-owned electric cooperative, SREMC sets its own retail rates subject to North Carolina Utilities Commission (NCUC) oversight (Docket EC-52) and purchases wholesale power through NCEMC. C&I members cannot shop for a competitive supplier; rate optimization comes from schedule selection (e.g., time-of-use), demand management, and power-factor correction.
Need to pull your actual usage data to compare rates? See the South River Electric Membership Corporation Data Access Guide →
Current Rate Schedules
SREMC C&I rates effective March 1, 2026 (NCUC Docket EC-52 Sub 56). Commercial classes include Small, Medium, and Large General Service with standard and time-of-use variants. Larger demand-metered accounts pay a grid access (customer) charge plus a per-kW demand charge and per-kWh energy charge. A transformer capacity charge of $1.75 per kVA applies, and demand is adjusted for power factors below 90%. A monthly Renewable Energy Charge applies ($3.71/meter commercial, $24.69/meter industrial). All figures below are verified from SREMC's published rate pages.
Effective: March 1, 2026 · Full Tariff Book →
| Schedule | Type | Applicability | Structure | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Small General Service (SGS) | commercial | Smaller commercial accounts not subject to demand metering. | Grid Access: $45.00 single-phase / $81.00 three-phase per month. Energy (tiered): 15.80¢/kWh first 750 kWh; 13.23¢/kWh next 1,250 kWh; 12.36¢/kWh next 2,000 kWh; 11.20¢/kWh above 4,000 kWh. | — |
| Small General Service TOU (SGS-TOU) | commercial | Smaller commercial accounts opting into time-of-use pricing. | Grid Access: $50.63 single-phase / $91.13 three-phase per month. Energy: on-peak 28.97¢/kWh; off-peak 9.67¢/kWh; super off-peak 4.84¢/kWh. | — |
| Medium General Service (MGS) | commercial | Mid-size demand-metered commercial accounts. | Grid Access: $120.67 single-phase / $209.58 three-phase per month. Demand: $6.80/kW of billing demand. Energy: 5.43¢/kWh. | — |
| Medium General Service TOU (MGS-TOU) | commercial | Mid-size commercial accounts on time-of-use pricing. | Grid Access: $139.72 single-phase / $241.33 three-phase per month. Demand: $12.75/kW on-peak, $2.25/kW off-peak. Energy: on-peak 6.09¢/kWh; off-peak 4.55¢/kWh; super off-peak 3.92¢/kWh. | — |
| Large General Service (LGS) | industrial | Large demand-metered commercial and industrial accounts. | Grid Access: $275.00/month. Demand: $10.56/kW of billing demand. Energy: 4.78¢/kWh. Transformer capacity charge $1.75/kVA; power-factor adjustment applies below 90%. | — |
| Large General Service TOU (LGS-TOU) | industrial | Large C&I accounts on time-of-use pricing. | Grid Access: $325.00/month. Demand: $14.45/kW on-peak, $2.90/kW off-peak. Energy: on-peak 6.23¢/kWh; off-peak 4.73¢/kWh; super off-peak 4.38¢/kWh. | — |
Rate Recommendations by Use Case
Mid-size commercial facility (50-300 kW)
Standard Medium General Service is the default; evaluate MGS-TOU if load can be shifted off-peak.
MGS charges $6.80/kW demand + 5.43¢/kWh; MGS-TOU lowers off-peak energy to 4.55¢ and super off-peak to 3.92¢ for shiftable load.
- Track monthly peak kW in the Meridian portal
- Stagger HVAC and equipment startups
- Model TOU vs standard using 12 months of SmartView data
Large industrial / high-load-factor plant
Large General Service offers the lowest energy rate; manage demand and power factor aggressively.
LGS energy is 4.78¢/kWh with a $10.56/kW demand charge and PF adjustment below 90%, so steady high-load-factor operation minimizes per-kWh cost.
- Install capacitor banks to keep PF at or above 90%
- Flatten the load profile to reduce billed demand
- Confirm transformer capacity charge ($1.75/kVA) sizing
Large facility with shiftable or off-peak load
Large General Service TOU rewards moving consumption off-peak.
LGS-TOU off-peak energy is 4.73¢ and super off-peak 4.38¢/kWh with off-peak demand at $2.90/kW, favorable for batch or overnight operations.
- Schedule batch processes into off-peak windows
- Use battery or thermal storage to shift peak demand
- Compare LGS vs LGS-TOU annually as load patterns change
Energy/data team needing usage data
There is no API or Green Button; build a manual data pipeline with the cooperative.
SREMC exposes only portal/PDF billing and daily SmartView data; granular interval data requires a direct request under member-data protection rules.
- Export monthly billing PDFs from the Meridian portal
- Request a custom interval export via sremc@sremc.com with written authorization
- Use SmartView daily data for trend analysis between exports
Historical Rate Trends
SREMC adjusted rates with May 2025 billing, raising grid access and energy charges across most classes, and again effective March 1, 2026 under NCUC Docket EC-52 Sub 56. A temporary 'Equalizer' surcharge ($7.50 per 1,000 kWh) has been used to smooth unexpected cost increases and is intended to be discontinued as permanent rate changes take effect.
May 1, 2025
Rate change effective with May 2025 billing: Large General Service demand rose from $9.25/kW to $10.00/kW and energy from 4.46¢ to 4.53¢/kWh; residential grid access rose from $31 to $37.50. Increases applied to most classes.
+8.1%March 1, 2026
Rate change effective March 1, 2026 (NCUC Docket EC-52 Sub 56): updated grid access, demand, and energy charges across commercial classes (e.g., LGS demand $10.56/kW, energy 4.78¢/kWh).
+5%Overall trend: Rising, driven by higher wholesale power costs, materials/facilities costs, and sustained high interest rates.
Next expected change: No specific next change announced beyond the March 1, 2026 schedule; the Equalizer surcharge is being phased out.
Cost Optimization Strategies
Because SREMC members cannot shop for competitive supply, C&I cost optimization focuses on schedule selection, demand and power-factor management, and load shifting onto time-of-use rates.
Shift to time-of-use rates
For: MGS and LGS accounts with shiftable load
LGS-TOU and MGS-TOU offer materially lower off-peak and super-off-peak energy charges (e.g., LGS-TOU super off-peak 4.38¢ vs LGS 4.78¢) for facilities that can move load off-peak.
Demand (peak kW) management
For: Demand-metered MGS and LGS accounts
With demand charges of $6.80/kW (MGS) and $10.56/kW (LGS), staggering equipment startup and capping coincident peaks directly lowers the monthly demand component.
Power-factor correction
For: Accounts of 50 kW or more with low power factor
Demand is adjusted upward for accounts of 50 kW or more operating below 90% power factor. Correcting PF with capacitors avoids the adjustment penalty.
Demand response participation
For: C&I accounts with curtailable load
Enrolling flexible loads in SREMC's demand response program can reduce coincident peak exposure and provide incentives.
To implement these strategies, you need your 15-minute interval data. Learn how to download South River Electric Membership Corporation interval data →
Frequently Asked Questions
How can a C&I customer get historical usage data from SREMC?▾
Use the Meridian Customer Portal (billing.sremc.com) for monthly billing data and PDF bills, and enable SmartView for daily usage. At least 12 months of billing history is available on request. For granular or bulk exports beyond what the portal shows, email sremc@sremc.com to arrange a custom export.
Does SREMC support Green Button or interval data downloads?▾
No. SREMC has not published a Green Button Download My Data or Connect My Data program. Although Itron Gen5 AMI meters can capture 15-minute intervals, the cooperative exposes only daily aggregate usage through SmartView. Interval-level data requires a direct request to the cooperative.
Can an energy consultant or aggregator pull our data on our behalf?▾
Yes, but only through direct coordination. There is no automated third-party portal. The consultant should obtain written authorization from the member, then email sremc@sremc.com with the company name, contact, and data scope. SREMC determines terms case-by-case; no formal SLA is published.
Which rate schedule applies to our facility?▾
SREMC C&I service is tiered by size: Small General Service (SGS) for smaller loads, Medium General Service (MGS) and Large General Service (LGS) for demand-metered accounts, plus time-of-use variants (SGS-TOU, MGS-TOU, LGS-TOU) and a Large General Service Industrial schedule. Larger accounts are subject to demand charges and power-factor adjustments. See the commercial rates page to match your demand profile.
Is there an API for programmatic billing integration?▾
There is no public SREMC customer-data API. The underlying Accruent Meridian platform offers Meridian Cloud APIs (REST/JSON) on a subscription basis, but access for customer usage data is not a published service. Contact sremc@sremc.com to discuss integration needs.
Automate South River Electric Membership Corporation Rate Analysis with Nectar
Nectar continuously monitors your South River Electric Membership Corporation rate options and alerts you when a better schedule is available. Save 10-30% on energy costs.
Nectar for Energy & Sustainability Teams
Managing utility costs for commercial or industrial buildings? Nectar offers a free rate analysis — we'll review your current rate schedules and identify where switching tariffs or shifting load can save 10-30%.
Get a Free Rate AnalysisNectar for Energy Brokers & Consultants
Advising clients on rate optimization? Nectar works with energy consultants who need reliable interval data and automated rate comparison tools.
Partner with Us