ATLANTA, April 20, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Georgia Power has filed a plan with the Georgia Public Service Commission (PSC) to reduce its fuel rates by an additional 15 percent. This new reduction, if approved by the PSC, is expected to lower the total monthly bill of the typical residential customer using 1,000 kilowatt-hours per month by approximately $4.60, beginning June 1. The reduction in the company's fuel rate is primarily driven by lower natural gas prices due in part to increased natural gas supplies. When combined with a previous fuel rate reduction which went into effect in January, the same Georgia Power residential customer will pay nearly $10 less in fuel costs each month.
In addition, last week, Georgia Power announced that its base electric rates will remain flat through 2019. This three-year base rate assurance for all of the company's 2.5 million customers followed a vote by the Georgia PSC on an agreement connected to the pending merger of Southern Company (the parent company of Georgia Power) and AGL Resources.
Due to proactive planning and a continued commitment to developing a diverse and balanced fuel mix, Georgia Power is able to take advantage of lower natural gas prices and pass these savings along to customers. New natural gas generation in place serving customers today includes Plant McDonough-Atkinson and Plant Yates. Additionally, thousands of new solar panels are also being installed across Georgia with carbon-free new nuclear generation at Plant Vogtle scheduled to come online beginning in 2019.
Georgia Power consistently offers rates that are below the national average. Over the past 26 years, the company's total retail rate has averaged more than 13 percent below the national average. The company's total retail price of 9.22 cents per kilowatt-hour at the end of 2015 was more than 14 percent below the national average. Georgia Power also works every day to help customers save money and energy through a variety of energy efficiency programs and services ranging from easy energy tips and rebates to energy tracking tools such as My Power Usage and in-home energy audits.
To learn more about how Georgia Power delivers rates below the national average, cultivates a diverse energy mix to ensure reliable and affordable power, as well as free energy services and programs available for customers, visit www.georgiapower.com.
About Georgia Power
Georgia Power is the largest subsidiary of Southern Company (NYSE: SO), one of the nation's largest generators of electricity. Value, Reliability, Customer Service and Stewardship are the cornerstones of the company's promise to 2.5 million customers in all but four of Georgia's 159 counties. Committed to delivering clean, safe, reliable and affordable energy at rates below the national average, Georgia Power maintains a diverse, innovative generation mix that includes nuclear, 21st century coal and natural gas, as well as renewables such as solar, hydroelectric and wind. Georgia Power focuses on delivering world-class service to its customers every day and the company is consistently recognized by J.D. Power and Associates as an industry leader in customer satisfaction. For more information, visit www.GeorgiaPower.com and connect with the company on Facebook (Facebook.com/GeorgiaPower) and Twitter (Twitter.com/GeorgiaPower).
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
Certain information contained in this release is forward-looking information based on current expectations and plans that involve risks and uncertainties. Forward-looking information includes, among other things, statements concerning expected future rates and the expected schedule for completion of the Plant Vogtle expansion. Georgia Power Company cautions that there are certain factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking information that has been provided. The reader is cautioned not to put undue reliance on this forward-looking information, which is not a guarantee of future performance and is subject to a number of uncertainties and other factors, many of which are outside the control of Georgia Power Company; accordingly, there can be no assurance that such suggested results will be realized. The following factors, in addition to those discussed in Georgia Power Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2015, and subsequent securities filings, could cause actual results to differ materially from management expectations as suggested by such forward-looking information: the impact of recent and future federal and state regulatory changes and also changes in tax and other laws and regulations to which Georgia Power Company is subject, as well as changes in application of existing laws and regulations; current and future litigation, regulatory investigations, proceedings, or inquiries; the effects, extent, and timing of the entry of additional competition in the markets in which Georgia Power Company operates; variations in demand for electricity; available sources and costs of fuels; effects of inflation; the ability to control costs and avoid cost overruns during the development and construction of facilities, which include the development and construction of generating facilities with designs that have not been finalized or previously constructed, including changes in labor costs and productivity, adverse weather conditions, shortages and inconsistent quality of equipment, materials, and labor, contractor or supplier delay, non-performance under construction or other agreements, operational readiness, including specialized operator training and required site safety programs, unforeseen engineering or design problems, start-up activities (including major equipment failure and system integration), and/or operational performance (including additional costs to satisfy any operational parameters ultimately adopted by the Georgia Public Service Commission ("PSC")); the ability to construct facilities in accordance with the requirements of permits and licenses, to satisfy any environmental performance standards and the requirements of tax credits and other incentives, and to integrate facilities into the Southern Company system upon completion of construction; state and federal rate regulations and the impact of pending and future rate cases and negotiations, including rate cases related to fuel and other cost recovery mechanisms; the ability to successfully operate generating, transmission, and distribution facilities and the successful performance of necessary corporate functions; legal proceedings and regulatory approvals and actions related to the Plant Vogtle expansion, including Georgia PSC approvals and Nuclear Regulatory Commission actions and related legal proceedings involving the commercial parties; the inherent risks involved in operating and constructing nuclear generating facilities, including environmental, health, regulatory, natural disaster, terrorism, and financial risks; the ability of counterparties of Georgia Power Company to make payments as and when due and to perform as required; the ability to obtain new short- and long-term contracts with wholesale customers; the direct or indirect effect on Georgia Power Company's business resulting from cyber intrusion or terrorist incidents and the threat of terrorist incidents; interest rate fluctuations and financial market conditions and the results of financing efforts; changes in Georgia Power Company's credit ratings, including impacts on interest rates, access to capital markets, and collateral requirements; the impacts of any sovereign financial issues; the ability of Georgia Power Company to obtain additional generating capacity (or sell excess generating capacity) at competitive prices; catastrophic events such as fires, earthquakes, explosions, floods, hurricanes and other storms, droughts, pandemic health events such as influenzas, or other similar occurrences; the direct or indirect effects on Georgia Power Company's business resulting from incidents affecting the U.S. electric grid or operation of generating resources; the effect of accounting pronouncements issued periodically by standard-setting bodies. Georgia Power Company expressly disclaims any obligation to update any forward-looking information.
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SOURCE Georgia Power