Rate Hikes in Regulated States
The examples listed below clearly
confirm that vertically-integrated states are not immune
to major electric price increases. In this time of
challenging economics, it is more important than ever to
test utility resource decisions against all available
alternatives, including those offered by competitive
power suppliers, so consumers can be assured they are
receiving the best possible deal. With double digit
increases, the electric price hikes listed below in
vertically-integrated states are well in excess of the
Energy Information Administration’s projected national
average increase of 2.3 percent in 2009 and 2.0 percent
in 2010. This is not an exhaustive list: numerous
vertically-integrated utilities are raising electric
prices across the United States.
Electric prices for most North Carolina customers could
increase 50 – 100 percent if Duke Energy and Progress
Energy proceed with plans for $35 – 40 billion in new
utility-built power plants, according to a report
released by the North Carolina Waste Awareness &
Reduction Network (NC WARN). The report’s findings,
including a large oversupply of electricity in the
Southeast, validate the need for strong competitive
procurement policy in North Carolina, to ensure that all
regional supply options are considered in a
non-discriminatory manner to the benefit of all
customers. For further information, the report can be
found here: North Carolina’s Energy Future
In May 2008, the Georgia Public Service Commission
approved a $222 million electric price hike for Georgia
Power to pay for higher fuel costs. The increase follows
$372 million and $323 million electric price increases
from February and December 2007, respectively.
West Virginia customers of American Electric Power
subsidiaries Appalachian Power and Wheeling Power could
see a 43 percent increase in their power bills over the
course of the next three years. The $442 million
increase would be split into an 18.5 percent electric
price hike to take effect July 1, 2009, which would
raise the monthly cost of electricity for consumers by
$11.57, with subsequent increases of 14.5 percent in
2010 and 13.2 percent in 2011. According to AEP, the
high cost of coal is the cause of the significant jump
in electric prices.
Dominion Virginia Power customers saw their monthly
power bills jump $16 in July 2008, after the State
Corporation Commission approved an 18 percent electric
price increase. The electric price hike is the largest
one-time rate increase in three decades. Dominion North
Carolina Power customers are seeing a $16.04 monthly
increase for average residential households, beginning
in January 2009, due to a 17.7 percent rate increase.
Florida Power & Light Company’s 4.5 million customers
could begin to see their monthly bills increase starting
January 2010 following a request for an additional
billion dollars a year in base rates, to be followed by
another $247 million starting in 2011. Approval of this
request would mean a 31 percent increase in base rates
for 2010.
Progress Energy Florida customers have voiced
significant displeasure following a 25 percent increase
for monthly electricity bills in 2009, caused by rising
fuel costs, investment in nuclear energy, and
environmental improvements. The hike, which means an
extra $27.29 each month for average residential
customers, has prompted nearly 200 complaints to the
Public Service Commission just in the first week of
January 2009, with people demanding some powerful
relief.
Meanwhile, Progress Energy’s residential customers saw
their monthly bills increase $10 starting December 2008
following a 10.2% electric price hike in North Carolina.
In June 2008, Progress Energy had asked for a 16.2
percent increase due mostly to an increase in the prices
of coal and natural gas, but later agreed to spread the
increase out over three years.
In early September 2008, Kansas City Power and Light
filed for a $257.5 million increase in base rates with
the Missouri Public Service Commission and the Kansas
Corporate Commission. If approved, average residential
customers in Missouri and Kansas can expect to see a
17.5% increase in electricity bills, resulting in
monthly increases of $13.89 and $12.57, respectively.
The Tennessee Valley Authority’s biggest electric price
increase since 1974 went into effect in October 2008, as
customers began to see a 20 percent increase in their
monthly electricity bills. The average residential home
can expect to pay between $15.80 and $19.80 more per
month, an increase TVA attributes to rising coal and
natural gas costs. This is the second electric price
increase TVA customers saw in 2008, following a 7
percent increase last April.
http://www.epsa.org/industry/index.cfm?fa=rateHike
Electric Price |
