Published: February 10, 2010 07:22 pm      

First higher TVA fuel cost adjustment since 2008

NGEMC is a distributor

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The Tennessee Valley Authority says its fuel costs are up due to higher demand in colder than normal temperatures and that means monthly residential bills will increase between $2.50 and $5.50. (North Georgia Electric Membership Corp., which has 99,000 customers in seven counties, including Whitfield and Murray, is a distributor of TVA power.)

TVA said in a statement Wednesday the increase takes effect in billing periods that begin March 1.

The upward fuel cost adjustment is the first since October 2008.

The adjustment is the way TVA manages changing fuel costs and the cost of purchased power.

TVA began the fiscal year Oct. 1 with an 8 percent general rate increase.

TVA is the nation’s largest public utility with nearly 9 million consumers in Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, Kentucky, Georgia, North Carolina and Virginia.