Georgia Power is asking for permission to go up on its prices by about 7% in 2020.
A filing with the Georgia Public Service Commission says a typical residential customer using 1,000 kilowatt-hours per month would see an increase of almost $10 per month, or $120 per year. A Georgia Power spokesman says the company’s basic service charge has increased only $2.50 over 30 years and remains among the lowest of the state’s utilities. But consumers and environmental advocates are calling the potential increase “significant.”
The first of the phased-in increases would happen this coming January. Part of the cost hikes are tied to trying to prevent toxic leaks from ash ponds of coal plants scattered around the state. Georgia Power said it also would pay for storm damage restoration and electric grid improvements.
The company reached an agreement with the PSC in 2016 to freeze rates for three years. A decision on the new request is expected in December.