General FAQ's

  • Farmers’ Electric’s office is open from 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Central time Monday-Friday with the exception of major holidays.
  • We also provide a 24-hour outage and payment service at 1-800-927-5334.
  • Farmers’ Electric Cooperative, 201 West Business 36, Chillicothe, MO 64601
  • Farmers’ Electric is located at 201 West Business 36 in Chillicothe, Missouri right across the street from Lowes.
  • Our drive-up drop box is located outside the office building at the corner of the sidewalk. No need to get out of your vehicle!
  • To start service at an existing location it is helpful to know the service address or the previous Member at the location. We will need to speak to the person(s) wanting to put service in their name and collect Social Security numbers, Drivers’ License numbers and contact information. Every account connected under a Member’s name requires a $30 membership fee and we perform a soft hit on their credit report to determine if a security deposit is required. Service is connected on the next available business day or on a specific date requested in advance.
  • For a new construction of service, please contact our Staking Engineer as prices will vary.
  • For existing locations please call the office during business hours and provide the address. From there, we will check our database and mapping system.
  • For new locations with no address, please call the office during business hours and speak with our Staking Engineer to determine if we service that particular area. If the location has utility poles nearby, you can identify if it is Farmers’ Electric’s pole or not by reading the pole tag that is placed on every pole in our service area.
  • Farmers’ Electric Cooperative is a nonprofit electric utility. If FEC makes more money than it needs for operating expenses, capital improvements and cash reserves, we allocate that money to you, our Member-Owners, in the form of capital credits.
  • Each Member’s capital credit refund amount depends on the length of time they have been served by the Cooperative and the amount of energy the Member has purchased in a particular period.
  • The Board of Directors approves how much and which years capital credits will be paid. Capital credit checks are mailed out once a year in early December.
  • Even if you do not have a current electric account with the Cooperative, you were still a Member and share the profits of FEC. This being said, it is very important to keep an updated address with us so we can mail you your capital credit checks.
  • If a Member is deceased, Farmers’ Electric will pay a lump-sum of that Member’s capital credits to the heirs of their estate. Call the office during business hours for more information regarding paying out a deceased Member’s capital credits.
  • Call the office to review rates or view the Rates page on our website.
  • Information regarding different renewable energy sources can be found on our website under the Renewable Energy tab. For more information please call the office and speak to our Energy Services Department 800-279-0496.
  • Farmers' Electric Cooperative is a Member-Owned business providing rural electric service to residents in ten North Missouri counties: Caldwell, Carroll, Chariton, Clinton, Daviess, Dekalb, Harrison, Livingston, Linn, and Ray. With headquarters in Chillicothe, Missouri, we currently serve more than 13,000 meters with close to 3,700 miles of electric power lines.

Map of Distribution Area

Services

  • Farmers’ Electric sells the Pest-A-Cator 2000, Pest-A-Cator plus 2000 and Midland Deluxe AM/FM Weather Radios.  For prices on these items, simply call the office 800-279-0496.
  • If you have limbs that are harmful to the power lines or are covering your meter, please call the office. The Co-op will send a tree trimming crew to access the tree and determine the safest way to trim the hazardous limbs.
  • For your safety, please do not try to trim these limbs yourself.
  • A Yard Light is a flat rate of $9 on your monthly bill. Your Yard Light is not connected through your meter and therefore does not increase your energy usage.
  • Yard Lights can be positioned on your meter or transformer pole.  
  • Call 1-800-DIG-RITE or dial 811 which is the Missouri One Call System for locating underground lines. For more information on Missouri One Call visit their website at www.mo1call.com.
  • No, unfortunately, we do not make contractor recommendations.
  • Yes, we offer several rebate programs for purchasing certain electric appliances. Check out all of the rebates we offer on our Rebates page or call the office at 800-279-0496 and speak to our Energy Services Department.
  • Your Co-op Connections Card gives Members access to several local and national discounts as well as discounts on medical, dental and prescriptions. Visit http://www.connections.coop/ to check out all the deals offered to you.
  • Yes, please contact Arkansas Electric which is located in our warehouse at 660-646-1204.

Billing Questions

  • There is no charge to make a payment over the phone. To make a payment by phone, simply call our office 660-646-4281 or 800-279-0496 during business hours and a Member Account Representative will forward you to the automated payment system.
  • To make a payment by phone after business hours, call our 24-hour outage and payment number 880-927-5334
  • Yes, you can pay your bill online. To access your online account, visit our website and select Pay Online. From there, a login will appear and you will select NEW USER. This will allow you to create an account with a few pieces of personal information.
  • If you are unable to create an account, please call the office during business hours at 800-279-0496.
  • We also have a Smartphone app called myFEC which allows you to schedule payments, report outages, and even track your energy usage!

  • Your Cooperative’s service availability charge is a fixed cost part of your monthly bill. This charge for our residential Members is $29 for single-phase and $43.20 for three-phase service. There is a cost to operate and maintain the Farmers’ Electric system, even when no energy is being used. A few of these costs include:

    • Trucks and equipment expenses
    • Property taxes (each mile of power line is taxed)
    • Maintenance of power lines such as removal of tree limbs
    • Administrative expenses such as software costs and billing
       

  • Farmers’ Electric’s service availability charge is often analyzed to determine that the Cooperative is fairly and equitably dividing these costs among our Membership.  There is a benefit to you, as the Member, for this charge – the Cooperative’s reliability is 99.97%.  This means the service availability charge you pay each month helps the Cooperative be extraordinarily reliable and keep your lights on!

  • If you choose Billing Cycle 1, you should expect to receive your bill within the first week of the month. Bills are due by the 15th of the month to avoid late fees, and due by the 25th of the month to avoid disconnection.
     
  • If you choose Billing Cycle 2, you should expect to receive your bill within the third week of the month. Bills are due by the 1st of the month to avoid late fees, and due by the 12th of the month to avoid disconnection.
  • YES! We have two billing cycles to choose from. You can pick any day of the month, as long as it’s the same day each month, to pay your bill, and you won’t incur late fees. Get paid the third Wednesday of the month? Choose billing cycle 2. Get paid the first of each month? Choose billing cycle 1.
     
    • Billing Cycle 1: Bills are due on the 15th of each month, disconnection for non-pay is approximately the 25th of each month.
       
    • Billing Cycle 2: Bills are due on the 1st of each month, disconnection for non-pay is approximately the 12th of each month.
  • The total amount due will be bold located in about the middle of your billing statement. You can also check your balance due through your online account access, myFEC app, or by simply calling the billing department.
  • Yes, you have the option of setting up Auto-pay or One-time payments using a credit card or bank account through your online account access. 
  • Automatic payments and One-time payments can be scheduled for any day of the month.
  • Click here to set up your Online Account Access or give us a call at the office to help set up your account.
  • Members who set-up bank auto-pay will receive a 50¢ monthly bill credit! Sign up to receive your monthly bill electronically (by email instead of regular mail) and receive another 50¢ monthly bill credit!
  • Even if you are on drafting or automatic payments, you will still receive a bill. This allows you to know how much will be paid and on what date it will be paid.
  • Yes, stop by the office during business hours to pay your bill with cash.
  • Yes, Farmers’ Electric offers Budget Billing to those Members who qualify.  If you have lived in the same location for at least 12 months and pay your bill on time, we will calculate your 12-month energy average amount and send a Budget Billing Authorization form to be signed.
  • Each year your Budget amount will adjust up or down depending on your electric usage and your true balance in the last 12 months. Simply call the office to learn more and see if you qualify.
  • Your member number is your account number, and it is located near the top of your billing statement.
  • Yes, you can connect several meters under your name. You can receive a separate bill for each meter or you can consolidate your bills. Each meter you have will contain a Service Availability Charge that is $29.00 per meter for single-phase services and $43.20 per meter for three-phase services.
  • The same connection process is used for each meter you have: a $30 membership fee and a soft hit on your credit report to determine if a security deposit is required.

Yes, call the office and the billing department can set you up to receive e-bills.

  • Members receive e-bills much faster than mailed bills and receive a 50¢ monthly bill credit for switching!
  • Delinquent notices are mailed on the *next business day after the due date to Members who have not paid their bill by the due date.
    • Billing Cycle 1: Delinquent bills are mailed on the 16th and are due by the 25th to avoid disconnection.
    • Billing Cycle 2: Delinquent bills are mailed on the 2nd and are due by the 11th to avoid disconnection

* Exact date or next business day depending on weekends and holidays

  • To add a name to an existing account, call the office during business hours at 800-279-0496. Everyone whose name is on the bill is responsible for the bill and is a Member-Owner.  We will need their Social Security number, Drivers’ License number and perform a soft hit on their credit report to determine if a security deposit is required.
  • Yes, if you just want someone on your accounts such as a relative or spouse to receive billing information but not add them to the account, they can be set up as an Authorized User.
  • An Authorized User is not a Member and their name will not appear on the bill. However, if that individual calls in to make payments, request outages or get billing information the office will know.
  • To make any name changes to your account, please call the office during business hours at 800-279-0496. To remove a name from your account, we will need to disconnect the existing account out of the current Members’ names and create a new account without that person’s name.
  • If an account is in more than one name, everyone on that account in a Member-Owner and a recipient of capital credits.
  • Capital credits will begin accruing under the new account in the new Member-Owner(s) name.

Reporting Outages

To report an outage you may call 24/7, 365 days a year to our 24-hour outage and payment number 800-927-5334 or report an outage online or through your myFEC app.

  • Please check all your breakers before calling in an outage.  If a crew is dispatched to your location and the power outage is not caused by our equipment, there are charges involved.
  • Check, if possible, to see if your neighbors have power.
  • Always report a power outage as it can help our crews pinpoint the issue and restore power quickly and safely. 
  • Call the office at 800-279-0496. An operator can prepare a service order explaining the issue with the Yard Light, and a crew will be dispatched to repair the light.
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