Savannah Electric today fulfilled the commitment made during last year’s fuel and base case filings: the company is requesting a reduction in its fuel cost recovery (FCR) allowance from the Georgia Public Service Commission (GPSC).

This fuel allowance reduction will offset any increase in base rates that the company is seeking under its existing base rate case. This means that a residential customer using 1200 kwh a month would see a slight reduction from $103 to approximately $102. This conservative estimate assumes both the base and fuel cases are approved as originally filed.

The FCR reduction is possible due to the efficiency gains of new generation scheduled to become available in June 2002 as well as lower fuel costs since the record natural gas prices of 2000 and early 2001. Mild weather and market responses to supply and demand contributed to the lower fuel costs.

The reduction must be approved by the GPSC, but is intended to become effective with June 2002 bills.

Savannah Electric, a subsidiary of Southern Company, serves over 132,000 customers in Chatham, Effingham, Bryan, Bulloch and Screven counties in Southeast Georgia.