Find out if you qualify. Environmentalists continue to press for increasing the use of solar and wind power, as well as coming up with more with energy-efficient technology. Companies must meet a federal deadline of 2015 — 2016 if granted an extension — to comply with environmental rules to curb mercury and other air toxins, but shutting down plants takes time. Natural gas is not free from environmental concerns, however. Methane emissions, which escape during producing and transporting the gas, also could be as much or more potent than other greenhouse gases, environmental groups say. One is supply (where There may be additional closures on the way, analysts predict. If you're an Georgia resident, you've probably noticed that your electric a bit more clear. “Today, everybody, including Southern, is kind of redoing the math.”. Relevance. Pushed by new environmental rules that could force the closure of hundreds of coal plants nationwide, Southern is looking for ways to reduce its four utilities’ reliance on that resource. That's why certain 501(c)(3) organizations can apply for a Georgia Power grant. The project’s $2.8 billion price tag is almost a half-billion dollars above original projections, and the project is not finished. have been steadily increasing over the past decade. Just five years ago, 70 percent of the fuel used by Georgia Power to produce electricity came from a source lambasted by environmentalists from shore to shore — coal. Georgia Power has won approval to buy electricity produced by natural gas from its sister company Southern Power, which could be a sign of what’s ahead. “It’s a completely different story,” said Paul Patterson, a utility analyst with Glenrock Associates. It’s a pendulum switch,” said Colleen Kiernan, president of the Sierra Club’s Georgia Chapter. The commission is only allowed to disallow fuel costs that are "the result of illegal or clearly imprudent conduct on the part of the utility," according to Georgia law. flux. alternatives for residents and businesses. If the PSC had refused to approve the fuel costs absent any proof those costs were the result of illegal or imprudent conduct, the commission could be held to be violating the law, he said. be confusing to sort through all of the suppliers and plan options, “We are in the midst of a significant transition in our fleet that will result in a more diverse fuel portfolio — including nuclear, 21st century coal, natural gas, renewables and energy efficiency,” said Paul Bowers, Georgia Power’s president and chief executive officer. Environmental groups say the process for extracting gas — hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling — is leading to contaminated water and earthquakes. The increase was effective April 1. Lori Johnston wrote this column. (how it arrives to your home, via the physical power lines). Preference is given to Georgia-based organizations with goals to improve the quality of life of Georgia's residents. Betty R. 1 decade ago. Federal regulators are not approving any new projects while trying to figure out long-term storage plans for used nuclear fuel. Find out if you qualify. In the short-term it's difficult to predict exactly what will happen handled by a Georgia utility company so there Georgia Power has agreed to buy more solar from independents, and the Sierra Club said the company should do the same with wind power, even if it has to come from other states where the resource is more viable. Find out if you qualify. “(Relying so heavily on natural gas) is kind of a big gamble. Georgia Power's rates remain well below the national average. The EPA issued rules to reduce air pollution from the natural gas drilling process but has not placed regulations on natural gas-fired power plants. Q: Now that Georgia Power has won another rate increase, what would be the alternatives if the Public Service Commission had refused to grant another hike? estimate the amount to purchase because they have fewer customers The company is an investor-owned, tax-paying utility, serving 2.3 million customers in 155 of 159 counties in Georgia. Up to now, Georgia Power executives have shied away from saying how they would replace the electrical capacity if coal and oil units are shuttered. Your Clean Cities coordinator at Clean Cities-Georgia can provide you with information about grants and other opportunities. replacing one supplier with another. bills are broken down into two main parts. Regulations to curb greenhouse gas emissions also could target natural gas plants, but to a lesser extent. You can also access coordinator and other agency contact information in the points of contact section. More This year is critical for utilities ordered to reduce emissions by shutting down coal-fired units or equipping them with pollution controls. Also, the EPA is expected to issue additional mandates targeting power plants, making it even more expensive to keep coal plants running. situation, and easily make the switch through our site. A: The recent increase in the Georgia Power fuel cost recovery rate was not a rate increase in the base rate, but allowed Georgia Power to recover the cost of fuel, said Bill Edge, spokesman for the Georgia Public Service Commission. Today, that number is down to 47 percent. That may be the one-two punch needed for regulators and shareholders to pressure utilities such as Georgia Power to close an aging coal plant instead of putting a $1 billion piece of equipment on it, analysts argue. Georgia Power. Georgia Power is the largest subsidiary of Southern Company, one of the nation's largest generators of electricity. Natural gas prices are expected to stay below $5 for several years, making it even less economical to equip existing coal plants with pollution controls instead of shutting them down. buy electricity more frequently than the utility, and they can better Georgia Power is expected to reveal exactly what changes are in its future on Thursday, when it’s scheduled to release its 20-year energy plan. Company executives tout the plant’s technology and have said, if successful, it could be used across Southern’s four-state territory. Power2Switch enables you to Assuming this Georgia Power’s alternative to coal likely will be its cleaner cousin, natural gas. Customer Service And Georgia Power recently announced it will close 15 coal and oil-fired units, removing 20 percent of electrical capacity from its power grid. Georgia Power is dedicated to giving back to the communities we serve. Wind is an intermittent resource and, as with other sources of electricity, becomes less efficient if it has to be transported from far away. Distribution will always be Unless the commission finds that Georgia Power engaged in illegal conduct or imprudent practices in buying fuel, it must allow the utility to recover those costs, Edge told the Q&A on the News. Preference is given to Georgia-based organizations with goals to improve the quality of life of Georgia's residents. Coal may not be completely off the table in the future. But the resource has come under increased scrutiny for two reasons —    environmentalists’ pressure on the Environmental Protection Agency to raise clean air standards and a precipitous drop in the price of natural gas. in conjunction with the utility, there are now many Retail Electric Georgia Laws and Incentives. “We thought 25-30 percent would be shut down and the rest get (pollution) equipment,” Parker said. If Some states decided to deregulate its energy market Hailed by its defenders as reliable and cheap and blasted by critics as dirty and inefficient, coal helped shape America’s history, powering steamships and railroad engines. Phone: 1-855-419-3586. Under Georgia law, electric utilities regulated by the commission are allowed to recover the cost of fuel used to generate electricity dollar for dollar only and cannot earn a profit on fuel. recently, since suppliers have recently been able to do their billing We’ll try to get the answer. Based on the graph above, electric rates in the U.S. As for nuclear sources, it’s unclear whether more reactors will be built even though executives have said they would like to. Georgia Power’s sister utility in Alabama has agreed to buy wind energy from Oklahoma. Georgia Power’s alternative to coal likely will be its cleaner cousin, natural gas. “This is probably why Southern didn’t announce its revised strategy for its fleet sooner; who knows when the EPA is done on making environmental rules tighter?” said David Parker, an analyst with Robert W. Baird & Co., which ran scenarios to figure out which coal plants likely would be shut down and which ones equipped with pollution controls. Georgia Power is dedicated to giving back to the communities we serve. Designing and building pollution-control equipment takes several months as well. Preference is given to Georgia-based organizations with goals to improve the quality of life of Georgia's residents. and that's where we can really help. you "switch" your electricity through Power2Switch, you are simply is to switch into a 12-month or 24-month plan and lock into a low rate. It can The agency is revising a greenhouse gas rule for proposed plants but might also take a look at existing facilities. But there is a cost — literally. trend continues, the best way to protect yourself from increasing rates Customers can still choose to receive their electric supply from the utility or from one of these new alternative suppliers. Natural gas plants also contain carbon, but the amount is much less than in coal-fired ones. Find out if you qualify. Suppliers (RES) providing less expensive and greener electricity switch electricity providers in Georgia is: "What will happen to electric rates?" This can be a tricky question to answer as rates are perpetually in Georgia Power’s sister utility in Mississippi is building a plant that converts coal to gas, then strips the carbon dioxide and other pollutants.

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