Hearings Begin For Georgia Power Rate Hike | Georgia Public Broadcasting

ATLANTA — State utility regulators begin hearings Tuesday on Georgia Power’s request to increase rates by nearly $8 a month for the typical customer.

All told, the increase will generate an additional $482 million for the company, which officials say is needed to offset higher costs and lower revenues from customers using less energy.

“You know, nobody’s excited to hear that rates may be going up, of course,” said John Kraft, a Georgia Power spokesman. “But over the past quarter-century, Georgia Power’s total retail rate has averaged more than 13 percent below the national average. That’s something we work very hard to make sure, that our customers are receiving good value.”

If the state Public Service Commission approves the new rates, they would take effect in January and hold steady through the end of 2016. Commissioners will vote on the request in December after hearings this week and in early November.

via Hearings Begin For Georgia Power Rate Hike.