EPB is poised to lay down its first rate increase since 2011, a 3.5 percent spike in monthly electric power charges that will add about $3.50 per 1,000 kilowatt hours of monthly electricity usage.
An average residential customer uses about 1,461 kilowatt hours each month, which means that customers will end up ponying up somewhere between $42 and $72 in additional payments per year, according to calculations provided by spokesman John Pless.
The rate hike, set to take place on July 1, must first be approved by the utility's board, which will vote in June.
The utility said that hike could have been larger, but revenues from EPB's nationally-acclaimed fiber optics division have allowed the utility to defer rate increases that would have totaled 5% percent since 2011.
Storms and TVA's peak energy demand charges are driving the increase, the utility said in a news release. TVA's demand charges are not passed onto customers during months with extreme fluctuations in temperature, and have been absorbed by EPB.
"EPB is committed to delivering reliable energy and the best possible value to our customers," said Harold DePriest, president and CEO of EPB. "With this rate increase, we are committed to holding the line on additional rate increases for several years."