MAY POWER RATE FALLS TO 8.573 CENTS PER KILOWATT HOUR

ATHENS, Tenn. – The power rate from Athens Utilities Board (AUB) for the coming month of May will decrease a bit, to $0.08573 cents per kilowatt hour versus the current rate of $0.08899.

May will be the second of two consecutive “transition rate” months, which have the lowest per-kilowatt hour charge of the year.  Two other transition rate months will come in October/November.

“We are still having some cool nights, falling into the high 30s and many nights in the 40s, so this transition rate will help as customers continue to heat their homes overnight,” said AUB’s Wayne Scarbrough.

The overall power rate for May is coming down a bit based on the fuel charge from TVA.  The charge decreased for May to 1.8 cents versus 2.1 cents in April.

“We are moving toward summer but, for now, we’ll enjoy the beautiful springtime weather and the lower power rates that come along with it,” Scarbrough said.

“As we mentioned last month, although the nights still get pretty nippy, we are going into one of the sweet spots in the year when the weather doesn’t call for heavy heating or heavy cooling.  That is nice.  Everyone can open the windows a bit and enjoy the fresh air,” he said.

AUB continues to keep a close eye on the current COVID situation.  The main office is open every day for business, as it has been throughout the pandemic, but the lobby is closed to foot traffic.

“By and large, people have just been great to work with.  They understand that this is a trying time, and that we are doing our best to be careful for our people and for the folks we serve.

“More and more people have taken advantage of doing their business online, so our drive-through is much less crowded than it was in the early months of the pandemic,” Scarbrough said.  “Together, we will get through this, and we thank our customers for their work and their understanding.”

About 83 cents of every dollar that AUB’s power division collects go to TVA for wholesale power.

-xxx-