Staff Photo by Angela LewisPeople walk down the sidewalk of the TVA building on Thursday morning.
Electricity rates in the Tennessee Valley will rise again in March, boosting the price of power to nearly 20 percent above the level of a year ago as many consumers still struggle to cope with this year’s colder winter temperatures.
The Tennessee Valley Authority announced Friday that its monthly fuel cost adjustment will increase in March by 2.5 percent, adding another $2.55 to the average monthly residential light bill in Chattanooga, according to EPB Chief Financial Officer Greg Eaves.
Despite fuel cost reductions in three of the past four months, the latest increase combined with fuel cost increases earlier in 2010 will boost the price of the typical EPB residential bill next month by $19.40 above the level in March 2009, assuming similar weather.
But so far this winter, temperatures have been below normal in December, January and February, boosting winter heating bills even higher for many consumers.
“It’s been a very active winter in the Southeast with a lot of low-pressure systems moving through the area pulling a lot of cold, arctic air into the region,” said Derek Eisentrout, a meteorological technician with the National Weather Service bureau in Morristown, Tenn. “It’s been an unusually cold winter, although we should begin to see some relief in the next few days.”