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