Local Power Rates Flat Into July
Media Contact:
Wayne Scarbrough
(423) 745-4501 ext. 6002
wscarbrough@aub.org
June 21, 2018
ATHENS, Tenn. – Local electric power rates for July will be virtually unchanged compared to current June rates, as the TVA monthly fuel rate for month is nearly the same period over period.
The AUB residential power rate for July will be $0.09156 per kilowatt hour compared to June’s rate of $0.09144.
“Your rate has two components that compose the all-up rate you pay for a kilowatt hour of energy, the base rate and the fuel charge,” said AUB’s Wayne Scarbrough.
“The sum of those is your all-up rate,” he said.
The summer base power rate, which runs June through September, is $0.07164.
The July fuel charge is $0.01992 cents per kilowatt hour, about a tenth of one percent above the June fuel charge.
Scarbrough said the community’s utility is ready for a great summer, and customer representatives are preparing for an uptick in customer calls as seasonally hot weather increases energy use as customers crank up air conditioners to stay cool.
“When you look at the annual profile of most home energy use, it’s essentially in the pattern of a sine wave with peaks followed by troughs. It’s a function of outside temperature and the homeowner’s moves to maintain a chosen comfort level by heating or cooling the home. That first summer cooling bill, much like the first full winter heating bill, can be a surprise to any of us.
“On our system we see energy use peak, typically, in February when heating is in full swing. Energy use eases down in the spring, then begins ramping back up gradually with warming temperatures until the summer peak shows up, usually in late July and August.
“Moderate fall temperatures—when air conditioners turns off and heaters aren’t yet needed—bring another trough in the wave, and the pattern repeats,” he said.
AUB General Manager Eric Newberry said that he and some other Valley power distributor managers continue to voice opposition to TVA’s unwavering determination to raise wholesale rates annually for the foreseeable future.
“It seems clear at this point that (TVA CEO) Mr. Johnson and his executive financial staff are determined to raise rates every year on us, the local utility companies that actually service the 9 million people of the Valley. We need to continue to voice our concerns, because we are the only advocates our ratepayers have,” Newberry said.
Newberry said that because AUB wholesale power costs continue to rise while revenue overall remains stagnant or decreases, AUB may have to consider its first local base rate increase since 2007.
No local rate move is in the works yet, Newberry said.
“We’re not doing anything hastily, but we must ensure that net revenue meets operating and reserve requirements,” Newberry said.
“Mr. Johnson said recently that any rate increases resulting from his current rate change strategy are because of the local power companies like AUB because the choice to pass on the changes are local. He knows that’s a disingenuous line of reasoning,” Newberry said.
On a supportive note regarding AUB’s wholesale power provider, Newberry credited TVA for cutting a reported $600 million in annual operating costs.
“It was there to trim, it was overdue, and I credit TVA for doing the right thing in that regard. TVA is a public power utility after all, mandated by congress in the TVA Act to maintain ‘the lowest rates feasible,’” he said.
“But the new multimillion dollar jets Mr. Johnson moves around in? Annual rate hikes every October followed by annual year-end bonuses that exceed $100 million every November?
“Those expenditures of ratepayer money don’t contribute to maintaining the lowest rates feasible for our customers,” Newberry said.
-xxx-
