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New Service FAQs
Ditch Requirements
Secondary: 30” minimum
Primary: 36” minimum; member responsible for opening & closing
Must be 4" wide minimum.
Three inch conduit is required under any driveway or road crossing.
The of most list of contractors approved by CVEC to have material issued for installing underground cable when providing a ditch for the consumer can be found HERE.
Inspection
The job must be inspected by county unless it’s agricultural. If it’s agricultural, CVEC must have notification from the county that inspection is not needed.
Meter Base Pole Requirements
Must use round treated poles, 6” diameter, 20’ long if further than 10’ from CVEC pole
If 10’ or less from CVEC pole, member can use a 6”X6”X16’ new treated pole. If farther than 10’ from CVEC pole member may still use a 6”X6”X16’ but CVEC will need to set an additional 30’ pole beside this to maintain RUS standards of 16’ minimum height.
All poles must be 4’ in ground.
Sources of poles:
- CVEC: 30’ pole costs approximately $200; picked up
at any of the three divisions. - Cove Creek Industry, Rt 29 North of Colleen Office (434-293-6774)
- 6" x 6" x 16' poles may be purchased from Jamerson’s & Lowes
New Residence
CVEC supplies the first 1400 ft. of line (underground or overhead) at no charge. Member will only pay a $25 new account fee. Anything beyond 1400 ft. is the member’s responsibility at $8.17 per ft. (underground or overhead).
If underground, the member is responsible for having the ditch opened & closed.
In order for CVEC to supply the first 1400 ft. of line, the member must have the well and septic permit, footers dug, and driveway roughed in. This applies even if the the member isn't building a house right away.
If a member bought land and wants to secure the right-of-way (even if they're not ready to build) the fee is $200.00. A staking technician will stake the property and exhaust all possible options to secure right-of-way and record the easements with the county. The engineering fee is refundable if construction is started on the home within 180 days.
Construction fees are due in advance.
Once site survey has been done by CVEC, if member makes changes (meter location, oh instead of ug) or if site is not ready (4 corners marked, lot cleared, driveway roughed in), a re-engineering fee of $200 will be charged.
If line is running under a driveway, the line must be in electrical rated conduit: 3”/Schedule 40 (gray conduit) and is the member’s responsibility.
If going underground under a state road, a road bore fee will be necessary & is not included in the 1400 ft.
Site requirements are:
- Copy of deed
- Copy of plat
- Copy well & septic permit (or site plan if no well and septic permit) with permanent meter base location marked.
Overhead to Underground
If no upgrade is needed but member wants to go from overhead to underground, then it’s a total cost job to member at $8.17 per ft. The member is responsible for opening and closing the ditch.
If the member is upgrading their service, and our wire size is not sufficient they have the option of putting the service underground at no cost for the wire, but the member must open and close the trench.
Relocation of Meter
If member wants to relocate the meter, it’s a total cost of $8.17 per ft. If it’s an underground service and CVEC needs to splice into an existing line, it’s an additional charge of $150 per splice.
Responsibilities
Member: Meter base, entrance cable service riser and weatherhead (from top of meter base to weather head)
CVEC: Line from transformer to point of attachment on structure.
Upgrades
The first page of deed book & septic permit are required. There is no charge for upgrades. If it’s an overhead service & wire size is not sufficient for upgrade, service can be put underground at no charge. Opening & closing of ditch is member’s responsibility.
What is a kWh?
First, kWh stands for kilowatt-hour. It is a measure of energy consumed. 1000 watts is a kilowatt. If you use a 100-watt lightbulb for 10 hours you have consumed one kilowatt-hour.
For an average residential member using 1100 kilowatt-hours per month:
A 2-watt clock used for 720 hours per month will cost about 12¢.
A 200-watt television used for 180 hours per month will cost about $2.93.
A 5000-watt clothes dryer used for 15 hours per month will cost about $6.11.
A 615-watt frostless refrigerator running 325 hours per month will cost about $16.27.
A 4500-watt water heater used 111 hours per month will cost about $40.66.
Most of your energy bill will be for heating and cooling your home or workplace. If your home has a heat pump, the square footage, thermostat setting, insulation, and other factors will affect the monthly cost.
Set your thermostat to 68 degrees in the winter and leave it there for the most efficient operation. Every degree above the recommended setting will add 3% to the cost of heating your home in the winter months.
Remember this: A heat pump is most efficient in milder climates and one-third as efficient when the outside temperature falls below 35 degrees.
HOME | REPORT AN OUTAGE | PAY MY BILL | CONTACT CVEC
Phone: 434.263.8336 | Toll free: 800.367.2832 | Fax: 434.263.8339
Corporate Headquarters:
800 Cooperative Way
Arrington, VA 22922
Payments:
Dept. 1340 | PO Box 2153
Birmingham, AL 35287-1340
Correspondence:
P. O. Box 247
Lovingston, VA 22949