Electric rates going up in March

Electricity rates will rise 2.5 percent next month in the Tennessee Valley , TVA announced today.

The federal utility said its monthly fuel cost adjustment will increase again in March, adding anywhere from $1.50 to $3.50 to next month's electric bill for most residential customers.

In its announcement, TVA blamed the increase on the planned outage at the Browns Ferry Nuclear Power Plant, which will require the utility to use more expensive fuels to make up for the drop in its nuclear power generation.

"Nuclear power is less expensive to produce than electricity from coal or natural gas, and nuclear plant outages, which are required periodically, mean greater reliance on TVA's coal-fired power plants during the outage periods," TVA said in a statement on its web site today.

TVA's fuel costs have declined since last November. But compared with a year ago, higher fuel costs have pushed up TVA power rates by 19.2 percent in March 2010 compared to what they were a year ago.

For complete details, see tomorrow's Times Free Press

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