ATLANTA - The Georgia Public Service Commission hiked Atlanta Gas Light's rates by roughly $26 million Tuesday, raising the typical residential customer's bill by less than a dollar.
The increase, approved on a 4-1 vote Wednesday, is about half the amount the gas distribution company sought. The PSC staff had recommended cutting the rates.
Atlanta Gas Light delivers gas from marketers to about 1.4 million Georgians, who pay the company through a line item in their marketer bill.
The commission allowed AGL to charge customers for 25 percent of the savings achieved by buying a New Jersey utility in 2005. The charges will last until 2015.
The commission also lowered AGL's permitted profit margin slightly, from 10.9 percent to 10.75 percent.