Local Power Rates Edge Up in July

Media Contact:

Wayne Scarbrough

(423) 745-4501 ext. 6002

wscarbrough@aub.org

June 14, 2017

ATHENS, Tenn. -- A slightly higher TVA fuel charge will nudge local retail power rates up in July.

Today, for June, the fuel charge is $0.02128 cents per kilowatt hour of energy consumed. July's charge will edge up to $0.02327 cents per kilowatt hour, said AUB's Wayne Scarbrough.

"Both June and July are considered 'summer' rate months in the power billing world at TVA and therefore both have the same base rate of 7.008 cents per kilowatt hour," Scarbrough said.

"To arrive at the all-up rate you pay at retail, you add the base rate and the monthly TVA fuel charge together," he said.

Based on that formula the July effective residential power rate will be $0.09335 per kilowatt hour, up from June's rate of $0.09136.

The difference will add about $2.30 to the average residential AUB customer using 1160 kilowatt hours.

"If we have a lot of hot weather in July, which is usually a pretty good bet, your use of electricity likely will be above your average as your air conditioner cranks up to keep you cool," Scarbrough said.

The temperature peaks of summer and, conversely, the troughs of wintertime cold put pressure on household finances when utility bills rise as a result of increased cooling and heating needs.

"We realize that and we understand how summertime bills can pile up. We get those peak season bills, too, and understand the shock factor," Scarbrough said.

"There are easy steps to take to shave some of that off your bill. Things as simple as closing curtains to reduce solar gain to your home's interior, lowering the setting on your water heater by 10 to 20 degrees, keeping your air conditioner on 74 instead of 68, and keeping the cooled air in with weather stripping and closed doors all can make a notable difference," he said.

"At AUB, we are going to continue to focus on TVA's rate plans as well. From what we gather in presentations and discussions with our counterparts, TVA plans to raise rates again this fall and every fall for the next several years. That hurts our local customers, too," Scarbrough said.

TVA has raised rates on AUB more than 32 percent in the past eight years while AUB has had no local rate increases to add to its operating bottom line, Scarbrough said.

AUB General Manager Eric Newberry said that TVA's rate pressure on community utilities and the customers that sustain them, many of whom struggle at current rate levels, is mounting.

"We're going to try to hold the line at AUB and not add locally to TVA's increases, as we have been, but if TVA keeps hitting us with rate hikes every year it will be difficult," Newberry said.

"To add insult to injury, we just don't think they have made the case for their rate actions and plans," he said.

AUB and other Valley distributors continue to press TVA regarding its apparent plans for annual rate hikes when the agency's revenues are strong, the need for capital spending is down based on demand in the Valley, and employee bonuses in excess of $110 million dollars a year have become the norm.

Visit AUB on the web for summertime energy saving tips. www.aub.org

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