Parts of the Chattanooga region are expected to see the first freezing temperatures of the fall this week, encouraging homes and businesses to turn on the furnace heat to the highest levels in at least six months.
The National Weather Service expects low temperatures at the Chattanooga airport of 33 degrees Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, "and we're likely to see below-freezing temperatures in higher elevations around Chattanooga," meteorologist Derek Eisentrout said Monday.
In a telephone interview, Eisentrout said Chattanooga temperatures will be nearly 20 degrees below normal this week, "although it should warm up again and be in the 70s by this weekend."
The colder weather combined with higher energy costs is projected to force most Chattanoogans to pay more cold cash to keep warm at home and keep their cars running this winter.
The Energy Information Administration predicts the average household relying upon natural gas heat will pay 28% higher bills this winter than a year ago, while those heating with electricity are projected to pay about 10% more than last year. A new survey released Monday by the online reporting service GasBuddy.com said Chattanooga motorists are paying 7% higher prices at the pump than they did a year ago.
But homeowners and motorists are seeing some reprieve this week from where energy prices were earlier with gasoline prices down 4 cents a gallon in the past week and TVA now projecting a slight drop in electricity prices next month compared with current rates.
Fuel cost increases ease
The Tennessee Valley Authority will cut its electricity prices for the second consecutive month in November, saving the typical residential EPB electricity user in Chattanooga an average of $2.77 from the current month's rate. But power bills will still average $9 a month more than a year ago in November after fuel costs earlier this year pushed up TVA prices to an all-time high.
TVA has kept its base rates for electricity unchanged for the past three years, but the federal utility adjusts part of its rates charged to customers each month to reflect the changing costs for fuel used to generate electricity.
TVA spokesman Scott Fiedler said by phone the November fuel rate is up 59% from the average of the prior three years, although still lower than the August peak.
"The higher fuel rate is mostly due to higher commodity prices relative to the comparative three-year time frame, which includes COVID impacts (that reduced fuel prices with lower demand two years ago)," Fiedler said. "Gas, purchased power, and coal rates remain much higher than the three-year average rates, and volatility is still prevalent, especially in natural gas pricing."
Higher electricity consumption is also driving up costs, although less than in most parts of the country, Fiedler said.
The typical Chattanooga household getting electricity from EPB next month will pay $139.38 for 1,295 kilowatt-hours of power, or 6.9% more than a year ago, according to EPB. The increase is about 30% below the increases projected for the country as a whole.
Energy Information Administration surveys indicate TVA still ranks among the bottom 20% of major utilities in its residential electricity rates.
Less pain at the pump
Chattanooga also offers cheaper gasoline than most of the country. A survey of 170 service stations in the Chattanooga area by GasBuddy.com found the average price of regular gas at the start of this week in Chattanooga was $3.29 a gallon, or 77 cents a gallon less than the U.S. average.
(READ MORE: Utility begins loading fuel at new Georgia nuclear plant)
Average gasoline prices in Chattanooga have fallen 4 cents per gallon in the past week, although local prices at the pump remain 15.3 cents per gallon higher than a month ago and stand at 21.5 cents per gallon higher than a year ago.
"Oil prices have cooled off slightly after OPEC+'s decision to cut production, and that should slow increases," Patrick De Haan, an oil industry analyst with GasBuddy, said in a report Monday. "Diesel and heating oil prices are likely to continue to rise as extremely low inventories of middle-of-the-barrel products like these two push prices higher."
A separate survey by AAA also showed gas prices declining over the past week, dropping in Tennessee by 2 cents a gallon to an average of $3.37 a gallon for regular fuel.
"Pump price increases were minimized last week due to lingering fears of a global economic recession, which helped pull crude oil prices lower," Megan Cooper, a spokeswoman for the AAA - The Auto Club Group, said in a report issued Monday. "It's likely that Tennessee gas prices will continue to fluctuate this week. However, it does seem like Tennesseans can expect pump prices to trend slightly lower overall, especially if gasoline demand remains low and crude oil prices hold steady or decline."
Contact Dave Flessner at dflessner@timesfreepress.com or at 423-757-6340. Follow him on Twitter at @Dflessner1