Georgia: First gas, now electric bills rising

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Tuesday, April 3, 2001

First gas, now electric bills rising Associated Press --

ATLANTA - Residential electric bills will increase this summer, but Georgia will not suffer an electric power crisis like the one that has plagued California with blackouts and rolling brownouts, state official say.

Public Service Commission Chairman Lauren "Bubba" McDonald said Georgia has plenty of power, but the rising cost of natural gas, which fuels almost all new electric plants, could increase some residential electric bills by 25 percent.

"There is no free gas, and there is no free electricity," McDonald said. "We don't want to be in a situation like California, where the government comes in and sets prices ... and puts power companies at the brink of bankruptcy."

Georgia Power, which serves 1.8 million customers, will ask the state for permission to raise rates in June. The company says it needs to recover $97 million in fuel costs because of the skyrocketing cost of natural gas.

But it's hard to predict how much that will affect residential electric bills, Georgia Power officials said Monday.

"It should not mean very much," said Georgia Power spokeswoman Carol Boatwright. "Ninety-seven million sounds like a lot of money, but they won't do it all at one time, and it's spread over several million customers."

The average residential Georgia Power customer, who uses 1,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity a month, paid an average of $72.90 a month last year.

Electric utilities are still regulated in Georgia, and Georgia Power says its rates are 15 percent below the national average.

The Georgia Legislature deregulated the natural gas industry in 1998, but gas bills doubled and tripled this winter.

Most legislators blamed the high gas prices on a cold winter and low supplies - not deregulation. But the experience has left consumers wary of further deregulation. McDonald said almost everyone who calls the PSC begs the state not to deregulate the electric industry.

http://www.ledger-enquirer.com/content/columbus/2001/04/03/news/0403ELECTRIC_BILLS.htm?template=aprint.htm

-- Martin Thompson (mthom1927@aol.com), April 03, 2001


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