Rising fuel costs to hike TVA power bills

NORTH MISSISSIPPI — A 2.8 percent increase in the Tennessee Valley Authority’s fuel cost will boost average residential electric bills in December between $1.50 and $3.50.

TVA said in a statement that demand for December is projected to be about 16 percent higher than November and TVA expects to use higher cost resources. The December forecast shows purchased power contributing to almost half the increase.

The boost follows three straight reductions in the monthly fuel cost.

TVA is the nation’s largest public utility and supplies power to about nine million people in Tennessee, Kentucky, Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia, North Carolina and Virginia.