Local Power Rates Essentially Flat Into January; Prep for Cold

Media Contact:

Wayne Scarbrough

(423) 745-4501 ext. 6002

wscarbrough@aub.org

December 13, 2017

ATHENS, Tenn.--Local electric power rates will dip ever so slightly in January, almost unchanged from December rates.

Meanwhile winter weather has temperatures dropping more notably, and that usually means higher energy use and higher wintertime bills.

The local residential power rate for Athens Utilities customers will go down in January, by a tenth of a cent, based on a slightly lower monthly fuel charge from TVA.

AUB's all-up residential energy rate for January will be $0.08749, down from December's rate of $0.08803.

The monthly rate includes the base charge per kilowatt hour of $0.06842, unchanged from December's base rate, as both months are deemed "winter" billing months in TVA's rate scheme.

"With such a small change in the month-to-month rate, a customer with average home energy use of 1,225 kilowatt hours would see very little change in their bill, about 66 cents," said AUB's Wayne Scarbrough.

But with the recent colder weather we already are seeing customers energy use rise notably. Home heating systems are running longer to keep the house warm whether power or natural gas is the heating source," he said.

Scarbrough said that this is the time of year when many conversations with customers on the phone, in the office, and on the street begin with a common exclamation: There is no way!

"We hear that a lot, every winter and every summer. It's understandable. In the fall season utility bills go down considerably, usually to their lowest point of the year. You're not heating much and you're no longer cooling.

"But when that first cold wave of the winter moves in all of our heating units and gas furnaces kick in, we may nudge the thermostat up a bit to keep warm at night, and energy use shoots up. Most of us don't think about how that will affect our utility bill. We're just keeping our kids warm.

"Then a few weeks go by and the utility bill arrives, and what do you say? There is no way! Believe me, we understand the feeling. We all get wintertime energy bills, too."

Not only do AUB employees experience the same sticker shock with their own heating bills, AUB itself sees a big jump in its power bill, what it pays to TVA for electricity.

"As your bill jumps, AUB's jumps as well because we're buying all that power you are calling for. About 81 cents out of every dollar that AUB's power division collects goes to TVA for wholesale power that is then distributed by AUB to the utility's 13,200 area power customers," Scarbrough said.

There are things you can do, and many of the steps you can take to lower you bill are easy and come at little or no cost.

First, decide how warm you must keep your home. It makes a difference if you set your thermostat on 68 degrees rather than 72 degrees. Then you need to do all you can to keep that warm air inside and the cold air out.

Use inexpensive weather stripping on doors and windows to eliminate even small drafts, and keep those doors and windows closed at all times possible.

Other tips include:

• Ensure adequate insulation in your attic.
• Put an insulating blanket on your water heater.
• Dress for the season, even while inside.
• Take advantage of the sun’s heat by opening curtains on the sunny side of the house. Otherwise, close curtains.
• Clean system filters every month, using your utility bill as a reminder.

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