Bristol, Tenn., utility is cutting December electric bills 20 percent

BRISTOL, Tenn. – Some 33,000 area customers of Bristol Tennessee Essential Services got an early holiday present Wednesday when the company announced that consumers will pay 20 percent less on December electric bills this year.
BTES Chief Executive Officer Mike Browder said numerous factors – including lower energy costs through the Tennessee Valley Authority – will enable the company to charge 20 percent less next month than it did in December 2008.
“We’re pleased we can go into this December and sell power to our customers for less,” Browder said during a BTES Power Board meeting.
Browder said BTES consumers will be charged $40.12 for every 500 kilowatt-hours of electric use in December.
Last year, he said, ratepayers were charged $50.31 to use the same amount of electricity.
Browder said it is difficult to estimate just how much consumers will save through the lower rate. “But it’s clearly going to be significant,” he said.
BTES Power Board member David Shumaker said the rate cut is encouraging news for local customers.
“Twenty percent isn’t a small amount, by any means,” Shumaker said. “We’re fortunate that TVA has been able to knock down its prices, so we can then pass that on to the BTES customers.”
Browder said this year’s high rainfall was another major reason for the reduced December bills: The extra water has allowed TVA to produce more hydroelectric power from its South Holston plant than it did in 2008, when East Tennessee was hit by a severe drought.
Also, Browder said, area businesses are using less electricity, which has reduced the amount of power BTES needs to buy and then supply to customers.
“Last December, it was like a perfect storm that caused us to charge more than we will now,” Browder said. “The energy prices kept going up so much, so fast, that we had to project those higher fuel costs in our collections. Then, you have to add in the drought and other factors.”
During the Power Board meeting, Browder also discussed Tuesday’s death of BTES lineman Ronald Norris, who was electrocuted while working on a power line in Bluff City.
Browder said BTES is still investigating Norris’ death.
“I don’t want to speculate on how it happened, because we still don’t know all that took place,” Browder told board members. “We know that was a very sad and tragic thing that happened to a wonderful employee. Everybody respected him. If you could have a whole team of people like him, that’s what you’d want.”
Browder said BTES would continue using counselors to help Norris’ co-workers cope with his death.
“During one session we had, the counselors said they’d never been in a group where the workers seemed to care so much for each other,” Browder said. “I think that’s an indication of how extremely difficult this has been for everyone.”
Norris, a two-year employee at BTES, was married and had two daughters.
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