Mild temperatures and an abundance of rain have reduced the Tennessee Valley Authority's fuel costs 10 to 20 percent from the three-year average, meaning cheaper bills for customers.
TVA spokesperson Scott Brooks says mild weather means people use less electricity to heat or cool their homes, so TVA uses less fuel. And he says more rain means more hydroelectric power is generated.
“Hydro is one of our cheapest forms of generation because the fuel is free, it falls from the sky, and we use the rainfall and the runoff as many times as we can as it moves through our system. So, the more rainfall around the valley, the better for our fuel costs,” Brooks said.
Brooks says fuel is about a third of TVA’s expenses and the fuel cost adjustment is a third of TVA’s portion of a customer’s bill. According to a press release, December and January’s above-normal hydroelectric production translated into some of TVA’s lowest fuel costs since 2010.
