Billing Center

You can better understand your electric bill by keeping up with our rates. Our team at Osage Valley Electric Cooperative will alert customers to any rate changes and discuss how they will affect their bills.

You can find your rate type listed on your electric bill. There are currently three rate types provided by OVEC. Here is a breakdown of our rates.

If the rate indicated on your bill is not listed above, please contact our office for your rate information.

Osage Valley Electric Cooperative is committed to keeping the power on. However, severe weather will occasionally cause outages that last for several hours or planned maintenance requires us to turn off the power for brief periods. This can prevent severe hardship for consumers who rely on electricity to power life support equipment.

If you or a loved one rely on electricity to support your medical devices, here are a few steps you can take:

1. Invest in a backup generator. If storms knock out power in your area, you will be safe. 
2. Make arrangements to travel to a safe facility. If it is safe to travel, you can seek shelter at a hospital or other location that has backup generators in place. 
3. Bring a note from your doctor to our office. We will flag your account with a medical alert and recognize that you need electricity restored quickly.

While power must be restored in a particular manner and this will not guarantee that you will be the first to have your power restored, a medical alert on your account will help our employees make decisions when trying to restore power during a major outage situation.

We care for all of our members and want to make sure Osage Valley residents with medical needs are safe and accommodated during an outage.

If you are unable to pay your bill, the agencies below may be able to help. These departments sometimes have assistance funds to help Osage Valley families in need. Call the numbers below to learn about your options.

Payment Assistance Options

Paying your Osage Valley electric bill has never been easier. We offer several convenient payment options depending on what you prefer. Here’s how you can make a payment and support the electric cooperative.  

Pay By Phone

Call 1-855-939-3689 and follow the prompts through our automated phone system. You can make payments any time and any day of the week. Payments are processed immediately.

Visit an Office

You can pay your bill in person at one of our three locations. Find the nearest Osage Valley Electric Cooperative office near you.

Drop Box

If your nearest Osage Valley Electric Cooperative office is closed, deposit your payment in the drop box found at each location. These drop boxes are accessible 24/7 so you can always stop by. They are secure and checked regularly by our team.

Pay By Cash

Visit participating VanillaDirect Pay retail stores to pay by cash. Use the SmartHub app to create a barcode for your account, scan the code at the participating retail store, and make a payment. There is a $1.50 convenience fee for this service. Here is a list of VanillaDirect Pay retailers.  

Pay By Mail

You can mail a check to the Osage Valley billing department if you prefer to pay by mail. Please include your name and account number so we can easily identify which bill you want to pay. Please send your payment to the following address:

Osage Valley Electric Cooperative
PO Box 470
Butler MO 64730

Our team at Osage Valley Electric Cooperative will distribute bills at the start of the month. We strive to provide ample time for our customers to make payments, whether they are paying through the SmartHub app, or mailing a check to our offices.

Current bills are due in the office by the 20th of the month. Postmarks do not count.

Bills paid after the 20th of the month will receive a 10% penalty (with a cap of $10). You have until the 10th of the following month to pay your bill with the penalty. If you do not pay your bill by this time, we will issue an automated disconnect courtesy phone call. If you do not contact the office within 24 hours and make payment arrangements, your power will be disconnected.

When service is disconnected for non-payment, a $35 disconnect fee will be applied to each account as well as a $35 reconnection fee.

We do our best to work with members to keep the power on. You must call in before the disconnect date to make payment arrangements. If you need help with your electric bill, look into our Prepay Program or explore Payment Assistance options within the region.  

Traditionally, people receive a single bill at the end of each month that reflects their electricity usage, but you can take another approach to paying for electricity. With the Osage Valley Electric Cooperative Prepay Program, you can pay for electricity in advance – just like filling your car with a tank of gas.

Here’s how it works:

1. Deposit however much you want into your account using the SmartHub app. 
2. Whenever your balance is running low, we will send you an email notification. We alert all prepay customers when they have less than four days of usage left. 
3. If your account runs out of money, we will shut off power to your house. As soon as you add more funds to the prepaid account, we will restore your electricity immediately. 
4. You will never receive an electric bill. Pay what you can, when you can.

This is a great option for people who don’t want to pay their electric bill all at once. Instead, you can make smaller payments throughout the month.

If you are interested in this program, please call our office at 1-660-679-3131 to register for the Prepaid Electric Billing Agreement.

Households require different power levels throughout the day. When kids are at school and adults are at work, usage drops. When everyone returns home at night, usage peaks as the dishwasher runs, kids stream shows over the web, and parents adjust the thermostat. The amount of power needed to supply everything in your home is known as demand. Demand billing tracks the energy usage of peak times and reports it to members. This allows them to take control of their electricity usage and potentially lower their bills.

Demand changes by season, day, and even hour. For example, demand for electricity often peaks during hot summer days, or holidays when guests gather together over good food and fun games.

Here are a few ways to save energy by looking at your demand billing report:

• Reduce your usage during peak times. This takes pressure off the electric grid. 
• Spread out your energy usage. Don’t run your stove, dishwasher, clothes dryer, and other appliances at the same time.
• Adjust how you use your appliances. Even small adjustments to your thermostat can have an impact on your electricity usage.

Check out the demand calculator to learn how different appliances affect your electricity consumption. You can see how the cost of running several appliances at once adds up, compared to staggering the usage of each appliance.

Notice of Unclaimed Monies

From time to time, Osage Valley Electric Cooperative (OVEC) may refund monies to current and former members in the form of retirement of capital credits, refunds, deposits and overpayments.  These payments are sent to the address we have on file, so please be sure the Cooperative has a valid address, even if you cease to be a member.  Any such checks which are not returned or are lost and not presented for payment to the Cooperative’s bank, will be handled according to Article 6, Section 5 of the Cooperative’s bylaws which provide these monies will be assigned and given to the Cooperative.

Please take notice that we are currently refunding unclaimed capital credits to former and/or present members of OVEC for the following years:  1995, 1996 and 2022, as well as any unclaimed deposits, refunds, or overpayments.   A complete list of members that have failed to claim monies for at least two years after these monies have been made available,.  The list of names can be found below.

Pursuant to the bylaws of OVEC, notice is hereby given these persons listed, should they fail to claim these monies within sixty (60) days of the date of this Notice, the monies will be deemed irrevocably assigned and given to Osage Valley Electric Cooperative Association.

Learning about your bill is a great way to take control of your electricity usage. You can identify ways to save and discover how we calculate your monthly costs. Here is a breakdown of your bill:

• Service Availability Charge: this is a monthly flat fee cost that members pay to maintain our electricity distribution systems. Your contribution helps Osage Valley continue to operate.
• Kilowatt Hour (kWh) Charge: this is the amount of electricity used during the billing period times the rate. See our Electricity Rates section to learn more. 
• Demand Charge: this is the maximum rate that your household consumed electricity during the month. This will vary by hour, day, and season. See our Demand Billing section to learn more.
• Area Light: this is a monthly charge used to recover costs associated with dusk and dawn light. 
• Roundup Amount: this is an optional charge that supports a variety of community organizations in the area. We will round up your bill to the nearest dollar and donate the change to worthy causes. If your bill is $55.88, it will round up to $56.00 and the 12 cents will be donated. Approximately 73% of cooperative members voluntarily contribute to this fund.

Your electric bill will fluctuate monthly depending on your energy usage. If you know that you are using more electricity than normal this month, you can expect your bill to be higher.