Ya know, a buck or two for most of us isn't much of a big deal, but for folks on fixed incomes, every penny counts.
Electricity to cost more this summer
Electric bills will go up from $1 to $3 a month for most folks in the Tennessee Valley this summer, the TVA says. The cost will jump about 1.5% for Nashville area residents as of July 1. That’s about $1.80 on the monthly bill of an average Nashville Electric Service customer. TVA says higher coal prices and drought, which hampers electricity production at hydroelectric dams, made the fuel cost adjustment necessary.
“If TVA raises rates, basically it’s a pass through,” said Leo Waters, chairman of the NES board.
NES is one of TVA’s distributors in the region.
The added cost will come on top of hikes that hit last month when TVA raised the basic rate by 7%, then tacked on 5% to cover rising fuel costs.>The change in the base rate last month covered nuclear and other projects, while the extra fuel charge is a quarterly, fluctuating amount.
Every three months, TVA adjusts it, depending on whether costs to make or buy electricity go up or down.
TVA officials have said that the fuel cost shifts this year are the result of drought and the climbing price of coal burned to make most of the electricity the agency sells.
Lack of rainfall reduced the water flow needed to generate power at hydroelectric dams, so more costly power must be bought from other power companies, TVA officials have said.
TVA, an independent, self-financing federal agency, generates most of the electricity used in Tennessee and parts of six other states.
NES calculated the $1.80 a month increase for an average household using 1,300 kilowatt hours of electricity a month.
Contact Anne Paine at 259-80701 or apaine@tennesse
