Although the snow is melted and temperatures slowly rising, Kerrell Scott got a cold shiver when he opened his most recent electricity bill.
The $205 monthly fee for heating his apartment was more than double what Mr. Scott paid a year ago.
"I'm working two jobs to try to make it, and that kind of an increase is a real hardship on me," he said. "I'm hoping for warmer weather."
Colder-than-normal temperatures this winter have boosted residential electricity and natural gas consumption in Chattanooga by anywhere from 20 to 40 percent above year-ago levels, utility officials said Friday. Most homeowners only now are getting the bill for staying warm during sub-freezing weather in January and early February.
"We usually have a few really cold days, but this year we've had a much more sustained winter, and that obviously increases consumption," said Steve Lindsey, president of Chattanooga Gas Co.
January temperatures in Chattanooga averaged 3 degrees below normal for the entire month, meteorologists say.
"We've had a lot of Arctic air masses coming South this year to create colder-than-normal temperatures," said Greg Cole, a forecaster for the National Weather Service in Morristown, Tenn.
The average home heating with gas used about 40 percent more in the past month than a year ago, according to gas company figures.
People heating their homes with electricity used an average of about 30 percent more power in the past month than they did a year ago, EPB Vice President David Wade told company directors Friday.
The wintry weather means more cold cash paid to EPB, but last month's ice and snow also proved costly for the city's electric utility.
EPB Vice President David Wade estimates the ice and snowstorm that hit Chattanooga in late January cost the utility more than $1.7 million in repair costs for downed lines.
BY THE NUMBERS* 36.4 degrees - Average January temperature in Chattanooga this year, 3 degrees below normal* 30-40 percent - Amount of extra residential natural gas and electricity sales for heating in January compared with a year ago* 20-30 percent - Reduction in average electricity and natural gas rates in the past year due to lower fuel pricesSources: EPB, Chattanooga Gas Co.JANUARY ICE STORM* 34,080 - Number of homes and businesses with power outages* 23,107 - Service calls received during the storm* 499 - Number of workers that responded to the storm, including 262 EPB employees and 237 contractors* 1,000 - Number of trees cleared or cut* 35 - Number of electric poles replaced* 28 - Number of transformers replacedSource: EPB
EPB marshaled an army of nearly 500 workers, including contractors from across the South, to reconnect power for the 34,080 homes and businesses that lost electric service sometime during the last weekend in January.
"It was the worst ice storm for us since 1996 and the worst storm of any kind since the tornado hit us in 2006," Mr. Wade said.
Many Chattanoogans shivering through this year's colder-than-normal winter won't have to sweat too much over their heating bills. Because of the recession-induced drop in fuel prices, the fuel cost adjuster for natural gas is down about 30 percent from a year ago, and EPB electric rates are down by more than 20 percent from the same time a year ago.
"That's good news for consumers," EPB President Harold DePriest said.
The Tennessee Valley Authority cut its fuel cost adjustment eight times in the past year, but the string of rate cuts is ending on March 1 when TVA rates will go up due to higher coal and purchased-power costs. Depending upon usage levels, TVA estimates the typical residential customer will pay between $2.50 and $5.50 a month extra due to the March 1 rate increase.