By Paul Leach
Correspondent
ETOWAH, Tenn. — TVA will put new wholesale rates into effect this April that officials say better reflect its actual power costs.
But for half of the agency’s 155 electrical retail distributors, such as Etowah Utilities, the change will mean an increase in pricing.
Mike Hynes, vice president of rates and regulations for the Tennessee Valley Authority, said Etowah Utilities customers would pay about two-tenths of a cent more per kilowatt hour, which on average would be an extra $2 per month.
The total increase amounts to $200,000 based on current consumption patterns of the utility’s customers, according to a recent TVA presentation before the Etowah Utilities board.
The board decided to table a vote on whether to approve the new TVA wholesale pricing until its next regular meeting Feb. 28.
Etowah Utilities Board Chairman Burke Garwood made no secret of his dissatisfaction with TVA’s new pricing initiative.
“It always seems to me that when TVA is going to make a move, they never make a move against the big ones, the big users — the people that have money that can absorb [another $200,000],” he told Hynes.
When Garwood questioned Hynes about pricing for the Chattanooga and Knoxville markets, Hynes said he did not have that information at hand.
Hynes said a key feature of the new wholesale pricing is to encourage consumers to make economic decisions regarding energy usage during peak load periods. He said the pricing should become more transparent, but that now most consumers don’t know the true costs of the electricity they’re using.
“I knew it was going to be our fault, I just didn’t know how you were going to get it there,” Garwood said.
Board member Ann Abbot said elderly people make up a large portion of Etowah Utilities’ customers and have little choice about adjusting heating or cooling costs for their homes during peak energy usage periods.
Paul Leach is based in Cleveland. E-mail him at paul.leach.press@gmail.com.