LOCAL POWER RATES FALL AS SPRING ARRIVES

ATHENS, Tenn. – Local electric power rates will fall a bit in April as the spring rate season takes effect along with lower fuel charges from TVA.

The AUB residential power rate for April will be $0.08422 per kilowatt hour compared to March’s rate of $0.08836 and represents a reduction of .00414 cents or over 4 mils per kilowatt hour.

“April and May—along with October and November—are deemed “transition” rate months in TVA’s rate scheme and have the lowest base rate of the year,” said AUB’s Eric Newberry.

The transition season base rate is $0.06917. The fuel surcharge for April is $0.01505, which is down from March’s fuel surcharge of $0.0.01723.

“Each month, TVA adds a per-kilowatt-hour fuel charge to the base rate that AUB pays the federal agency for wholesale power.  We are especially pleased when these changes in fuel charges result in lower overall bills to our customers,” Newberry stated.

Although 4 mils may not sound like a big reduction in rates, a residential customer using 1250 kilowatt-hours of electricity receives a savings of around $5.15 in their monthly bill.

About 83 cents of every dollar that AUB’s power division collects goes to TVA for wholesale power that is then distributed by AUB to the local utility’s 13,400 power customers.