A scheduled increase in LaGrange electricity rates may be offset, at least somewhat, by decreases in natural gas and Eastern coal prices.

Fuel-adjustment charges applied to power bills will go down - a 0.2-cent reduction for each kilowatt used per hour, city officials said.

“In general, the more kilowatts used per hour means more of a reduction when compared to the previous cost of each kilowatt,” said Patrick Bowie, the city’s director of utilities. “This reduction, though, has nothing to do with a person’s base rate charge. The price reduction per customer depends on how many kilowatts are used on a regular basis.”

The price drop doesn’t guarantee lowered power bills for every customer, Bowie said.

“Kilowatts per hour is a measure of how much energy each customer is using,” he said. “The reason natural gas and coal prices affect the amount of kilowatts per hour used is because coal and gas, like other natural resources, are used to make electricity in generator plants used by the city.”

Generator plants used by LaGrange include one natural gas plant, two nuclear plants, two coal plants and multiple hydroelectric plants throughout the Southeast.

Natural gas currently costs $4.12 per million British thermal units. It was $4.56 in February and $9.02 in March 2008. A BTU is the unit of energy used in the power, steam generation, heating and air conditioning industries.

The price drops of gas and coal may help offset a base rate increase of electric services that will become effective at the beginning of April. Residential base rates will go up by 2.9 percent while general service rates will rise by 4.9 percent. An additional 1.5 percent will be applied to commercial rates.

“We’re increasing the base portion of our rate tariffs effective April 1 in order to cover our increased fixed costs associated with higher debt service following the downgrading of several bond insurance companies, and to fund required environmental improvements at our coal plants Wansley and Scherer,” Bowie said. “Each tariff also includes a fuel adjustment charge to recover the cost of nuclear fuel, coal and natural gas burned in our generating plants plus any power we purchase in the wholesale market. Fortunately, natural gas and Eastern coal prices have declined substantially over the past several months.”

Kenneth Thompson can be reached at kethompson@ lagrangenews.com or at (706) 884-7311, Ext. 228.