Alabama Power drops rate increase to 8.2 percent

Published 11:12 am Tuesday, September 23, 2008

Alabama Power Co. has agreed to scale back its rate hike request after negotiations with its largest customers.

Alabama Power unveiled the agreement Tuesday at a hearing before the Alabama Public Service Commission. Alabama Power had been seeking a 14.6 percent rate hike for residential customers but is now dropping that to 8.2 percent.

Industrial customers of the state’s largest utility had been looking at a rate hike of nearly 25 percent but the new agreement would reduce that to 14 percent.

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The reduction comes because Alabama Power will take longer to recover its fuel cost than originally proposed. The increase is due to the utility paying more for fuel than it is getting back in rates.

The agreement is subject to approval by the three members of the Public Service Commission.