NASHVILLE, TN - The Electric Power Board has approved an 8.5 percent rate increase as a result of the rising cost of wholesale power from TVA. That means the average NES customer will pay about $8 more on their monthly electric bill come October 1.
For example, a typical customer paying $91.10 per month for 1,300 kilowatt hours will see their bill increase to $99.06 - an increase of $7.96.
NASHVILLE, TN – The Electric Power Board has approved an 8.5 percent rate increase as a result of the rising cost of wholesale power from TVA. That means the average NES customer will pay about $8 more on their monthly electric bill come October 1.
For example, a typical customer paying $91.10 per month for 1,300 kilowatt hours will see their bill increase to $99.06 – an increase of $7.96.
Earlier this month, TVA announced plans to pass along a 7.5 percent increase to local utilities, like NES. Darrell Trimble, NES budget and rates manager says, “We can’t absorb this cost. NES would lose over $40-million next year alone if we didn’t pass the increase on.”
The 7.5 percent on wholesale power translates to an increase of about 5.8 percent to NES customers. The Power Board has included a 2.55 percent add-on to pay for continued growth and repairs to an aging distribution system.
Trimble says, “NES will need to spend $307-million on capital improvement projects in the next five years. Without the 2.55 percent, we can’t keep up with the demand.”
NES is growing faster than other TVA utilities, averaging 5,488 new customers annually from 2000-2004. Utilities in Knoxville, Memphis, Huntsville and Chattanooga averaged less than 3,000 new customers.
The last time NES raised residential rates was in November 2001.
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