Rising cost of fuel increases power cost adjustment
(6-08)

    LUCEDALE, MS –Singing River Electric has announced a power cost increase beginning June 6th. The power cost adjustment (PCA) on Singing River Electric member bills will increase 4.7 mills. As a result, a typical residential member bill for 1,000 kilowatt-hours will rise $4.70, a 4.4 percent increase.
      Rising fuel costs directly affect electricity bills because they are a pass-through expense. The PCA is an increase or decrease depending on the cost of generating and purchasing electricity.
      Power costs are managed by working with South Mississippi Electric, a generation and transmission cooperative, to purchase a diversified mix of fuel sources.
     “By purchasing a blend of owned and contracted generation resources, the cooperative minimizes the full impact of any individual fuel source cost,” said Singing River Electric manager and CEO Lee Hedegaard.
      Lately, however, prices of nearly all our generation resources are rising at the same time. The price of coal has more than doubled and natural gas prices are up 53 percent.
     “We want our members to understand how the rising cost of generating electricity affects their power bill,” said Hedegaard. “We also want them to know they have ultimate power to lower their energy use.”
     For help on saving energy, click on the energy calculators on this site.