TVA board votes for 1.5 percent rate increase

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) The Tennessee Valley Authority is increasing its base rate by 1.5 percent, the first increase by the nation's largest public utility in two years.

The agency's board of directors approved the hike and a $10.5 billion fiscal year 2014 budget at its meeting on Thursday. The new fiscal year begins Oct. 1.

The rate adjustment will add about a $1.50 to the monthly power bill of a customer using 1,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity.

TVA's budget for the upcoming year anticipates 4.6 percent lower sales year over year and is about 6 percent less than 2013.

TVA provides power to about 9 million people in Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia.

The Georgia counties served by TVA power are: Catoosa, Chattooga, Dade, Fannin, Floyd, Gilmer, Gordon, Murray, Towns, Union, Walker and Whitfield. According to the TVA web site, the utility supplies power to more than 130,000 north Georgia households.

http://accesswdun.com/article/2013/8/264775