TVA Increases Rates -Decreases Fuel Cost Adjustment
TVA’s Board of Directors met Thursday, August 21, 2009 and approved their fiscal 2010 budget which includes $10.2 billion in operating expenses and $2.3 billion in capital investments. Although the TVA Board approved an 8% increase in the average wholesale rate to distributors, the increase will at least initially be offset by an 11% decrease in the fuel cost adjustment (FCA). Both rate actions will take effect October 1, 2009. Tri-County Electric member-owners use an average of 1300 kWh per month. Based on average usage, their electric bill will decrease approximately $2.00 per month. According to TVA officials, the rate increase is due to a projected budget shortfall due to an "unprecedented decline" in sales revenue in addition to other factors including the Kingston, Tennessee recovery effort and North Carolina Clean Air lawsuit. The FCA decrease is due to an increase in hyrdro generation alongside the stabilization of fuel prices. This is the fourth straight quarter TVA has reduced the FCA portion of their rate which will now be adjusted monthly rather than quarterly to prevent widespread fluctuations.
"As a rural electric cooperative, Tri-County Electric understands the impact the recession has on our member-owners" said Paul Thompson, Executive V.P. & General Manager, of Tri-County Electric. "Although we are never pleased to announce that TVA is increasing rates, TVA’s decrease of the FCA will actually allow electric bills to remain stable for now. Tri-County Electric continues to encourage our member-owners to utilize the energy saving tips found on our website at www.tcemc.org or in their local office" continued Thompson.
Save $25 each month with these 5 easy steps...
| Savings per Month | What you can do |
|---|---|
| $10.33 | Replace fifteen 75 watt incandescent bulbs with the equivalent 20 watt compact fluorescents |
| $6.86 | Reduce thermostat setting on your water heater from 140° to 120° |
| $5.22 | Change the thermostat setting on your heating/cooling system by 2° (higher in the summer/lower in the winter) |
| $2.00 | Complete energy right Home e-Valuation & utilize all the contents of free energy kit |
| $0.63 | Wash 2 less loads in your dishwasher each week (fill to capacity) |
$25.04 monthly savings |
|
Save even more $ with these additional no cost / low cost tips...
- Change your return filter monthly
- Keep doors & windows tightly closed when using heating or cooling system
- Wash clothes in the coolest water possible and rinse in cold water
- Stop the dryer as soon as clothes are dry
- Hang clothes outside to dry or use a folding drying rack when possible
- Keep refrigerator condenser coils clean
- Keep the freezer full – the fuller the freezer, the less cold air you lose when you open the door
- When cooking use flat-bottomed pots & pans with tight fitting lids
- Avoid opening the oven door until food is cooked
- Use drapes or blinds to bring the sun’s warmth into your home in the winter and to keep it out in the summer
- Use the ventilation fans in your kitchen, bath and other areas only as needed. Besides removing moisture and odors, they also remove heated air in the winter and cooled air in the summer.
- Take showers rather than baths. You use approximately twice the volume of hot water in a standard-size tube as you do when taking a (5) minute shower.
- Clean the lint filter on your dryer after each load and check the vent periodically to be sure it isn’t blocked.
- Don’t waste energy by keeping your refrigerator (recommended 37°-40°) or freezer (recommended 5°) too cold.
- Repair or replace leaky faucets (a hot water faucet leaking (1) drop/sec. wastes more than 2,300 gallons of hot water each year, that’s approximately $50.00/yr.)
A Commitment to Power Quality and Reliability...
Although Tri-County Electric directors, management and employees work hard in many ways to help our communities thrive and prosper, our primary responsibility is to provide reliable, affordable electric service to our over fifty thousand member-owners.
During the past year Tri-County Electric has invested more than nine million dollars in utility plant expansions and improvements. With all these system improvements we still cannot provide the level of power quality our member-owners expect and deserve without a true commitment to maintaining our right-of-way.
We love trees, but reliability goals cannot be met with trees growing in our power lines. In addition to the blinks and outages trees in the lines: increase the chances of an interruption of power; increase the likelihood of lines being downed in a storm (ice or thunder); increase the time it takes our crews to restore power during an outage; pose a safety hazard to children climbing trees and playing near lines; and pose a safety hazard to farmers or others using equipment near lines.
We ask for you understanding, patience and support as we work to clear our right-of-way, not only to improve the power quality and reliability but also for your safety.