TVA Will Adjust
April Fuel Charge;
Rates Rose 5.3%
During March
KNOXVILLE (AP) -- Electric bills are going up again in April.
The Tennessee Valley Authority is increasing its fuel adjustment charge.
The utility said the hike will raise residential power bills between $3 and $6.50 per month, depending on how much electricity is used.
Higher fuel prices this year are eating into a fuel adjustment credit that TVA has applied to the rate because of lower fuel prices last year.
The rate increase is from about a half-cent to a fifth of a cent per kilowatt hour.
TVA says that amounts to approximately a 5.9 percent increase in what residential customers will pay TVA for the cost of the utility buying fuel.
The April increase follows a 5.3 percent hike in rates for March.
TVA uses fossil fuels -- coal, oil and natural gas -- to generate about half of its electricity. When those costs rise, TVA's costs increase.
The other half of TVA electricity comes from its nuclear plants and dams.
