Higher energy costs, climate mitigation actions to increase electric bills

Rising energy costs, the price of coal and the associated delivery charges, combined with the country’s efforts to cut greenhouse gases, will result in higher electric bills for members over the next four years, and likely into the future.

GreyStone members enjoy some of the lowest rates in Georgia. According to the Georgia Public Service Commission’s seasonal surveys on electric rates, GreyStone’s winter rate from November through May was the lowest in the state among both Georgia Power and the other 41 EMCs. Summer rates, between June and October, were well below Georgia Power and 18th overall among the other EMCs. An average of those rates shows that GreyStone members pay some

of the lowest power costs in the state. Congress is currently debating climate change issues and how to reduce the country’s dependence on foreign oil, and the result of this debate will likely have a dramatic effect on energy prices nationwide.

“Some of these Congressional plans could more than double the price of electricity in the next decade. Efforts to impose a carbon tax, under a cap and trade system, to reduce greenhouse gas emissions as proposed by Sens. Lieberman and McCain, would boost the price of coal 129 percent by 2020 and 245 percent by 2030, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration,” says Gary Miller, President/CEO.“In addition, in August the U.S. House of Representatives approved legislation requiring utilities to produce 15 percent of their electricity using renewable energy sources, and while we are working hard through our partnership with Green Power EMC to increase our renewable energy usage, energy produced from wind and solar sources currently costs three times what we pay for wholesale power.”

Due to political, environmental and fuel cost volatility, wholesale power costs are anticipated to rise nearly 12.5 percent by 2011. Wholesale power costs account for 72 percent of every dollar GreyStone spends to deliver energy to members. On Nov. 1, 2007, and each year through Nov. 1, 2011, GreyStone will increase rates by 2 mills, an average increase of $2.30 on the monthly residential electric bill, or a total of $27.60 per year.

“We have always been, and will always be, committed to connecting our members to the lowest rates possible, and with help from our Board of Directors will press lawmakers to ensure that electricity costs won’t spiral out of control if Congress enacts a carbon emissions law. We will continue to fight for you to make sure that the actions we take as a nation are worth what we pay in electric bills in the years ahead,” says Miller.