Beginning in June, Georgia Power customers’ utility bills will increase dramatically as the company begins to recoup $2.1 billion in fuel costs.
The average Georgia Power household will start paying 12% more on monthly electric bills as summer temperatures soar in June after state regulators on Tuesday approved the company’s $6.6 billion fuel cost plan.
The Republican-controlled five-member Public Service Commission unanimously approved a deal that would allow the state’s largest utility to recover $2.1 billion in underbudgeted coal and natural gas costs. The terms of the agreement result in the typical retail customer paying about $16 more for monthly additional costs over a period of three years.
The Southern Environmental Law Center estimates that by 2025, households will be paying about $500 more per year for utilities than Georgia Power customers withstand six rate hikes for fuel costs, annual increases in electricity tariffs and the bill due to complete the nuclear expansion of the Vogtle power plant.
During the fuel case hearings, Georgians expressed frustration at the burden of higher electric bills and complained that commissioners often put the state’s largest utility over residents’ financial well-being.
The new fuel price also includes an additional $4.4 billion in projected fuel costs over the next three years.
Codi Norred, executive director of Georgia Interfaith Power and Light, said the organization was disappointed that PSC officials failed to heed the organization’s request for Georgia Power to be more transparent about how many families were struggling to keep their electricity going due to financial difficulties .
Georgia Power cut off about 10% of Georgia Power’s residential customers last year due to defaults.
“It’s a question of justice. “Georgia Power blew its fuel budget last year as fossil fuel prices soared, but at the same time the company raked in record billions of dollars in profits,” Norred said. “Now, customers are having to adjust their family budgets to find room for soaring bills, with no relief in sight.”
The company sought reimbursement for excess fuel costs it incurred last year due to inflation, which drove up the price of natural gas and other energy sources to power its 2.7 million customers.
Under Georgian law, utility companies can require tariff payers to pay fuel costs if they can prove that their past and future costs are not the result of negligence or illegality. Georgia Power officials say the company is not making a profit on its fuel costs.
Georgia Power has been criticized for not taking financial responsibility for its fuel fees and for not extending the final fuel payment period by more than four years to ease the burden on tariffpayers.
Commissioner Lauren “Bubba” McDonald said that with the transition from the regulated monopoly of coal-fired power plants, there is a new emphasis on a more diverse mix of energy sources, including natural gas and solar power. McDonald blamed the Biden administration for the rise in the average price of natural gas between 2016 and 2020, which has risen from $2.65 to $5 this year.
“It’s the Green New Deal energy policy in the federal government that’s causing us to face these problems, which is the cost of gasoline, the cost of shipping coal and every other product that we have,” McDonald said.
The PSC on Tuesday agreed to give low-income seniors an additional $1.50 rebate on their utilities on Tuesday, as a small relief for those on a tight budget. This is in addition to the $2 discount previously included in the package just approved.
Seniors who enroll in the company’s low-income plan now receive a $33.50 rebate on their monthly bills, instead of $30 originally.
“I agree with the parties involved in the fuel reimbursement file that the fuel rebate for income-qualified seniors should be increased to have a proportionate impact on rate payers,” said PSC Chair Tricia Pridmore.
