Electricity rates may be going up around the Tennessee Valley, but the about 47,000 members of 4-County Electric Power Association – which supplies power from the Tennessee Valley Authority across nine counties in Mississippi – won’t see an increase, the local NBC-TV affiliate WCBI reported on September 15.
The TVA Board of Directors in late August approved a budget that included a rate increase of 1.5 percent. That increase will go into effect October 1 for the majority of TVA customers.
But 4-County, thanks to cost-saving measures and fiscal prudence, will be able to absorb the TVA increase and won’t pass the rate increase on to its members.
4-County CEO Joe Cade told the television station that the utility has been working to reduce costs for a while, all with the goal of keep rates as low as possible.
“We have done large things, such as consolidating from six different offices to two and we’ve done smaller things such as being more efficient in our everyday processes. And it has paid off. We are proud to be able to say that because our members have supported us in our drive to provide the best service at the lowest possible cost, we are able to avoid raising rates in October. We know that consolidating offices was a big change, but the impact to our bottom line means a reward to our members,” Cade said.
However, the future may not be quite as bright. Although 4-County will continue to work to keep costs down, members can expect impact from future increases.
He says TVA is planning increases for the next few years. “TVA has communicated to all Local Power Companies (LPCs) to expect about a percent and a half increase every year through at least 2020
