TVA To Charge Customers More For Electricity As Demand For Power Slumps

USEC is shutting down its uranium enrichment plant in Paducah, Kentucky. In 2012, the massive facility accounted for nearly $600 million of TVA power sales. Image: USEC

Electricity bills are going up soon. On Thursday, the Tennessee Valley Authority approved its first rate increase in two years.

Starting October 1^st, the average household will see its power bill increase by about $1.50 a month. TVA is dealing with a sharp decrease in demand for electricity, and it’s not just because of the mild weather year. Its largest customer—a massive uranium enrichment plant in Paducah, Kentucky—shut down earlier this year.

Board chair Bill Sansom says it’s been a dramatic reversal. In 2006, TVA hit peak demand and the utility was worried it wasn’t going to generate enough electricity. Sansom says current projects show the utility won’t hit that peak again until 2023.

Along with the rate increase, TVA is looking to trim expenses as much as half a billion dollars over the next two years.