GARLAND, Texas, May 27, 2005 -- The Garland City Council has approved an increase in the fuel cost factor component of the rate for electric service provided by Garland Power & Light (GP&L) effective June 1, 2005. This will result in an almost 5% increase in the overall electric bill for GP&L Customers.
“The significant increase in the cost of natural gas used to generate electricity is the reason for the adjustment,” said Jim Harder, Managing Director of GP&L. “Over the last several months, electric providers throughout Texas and across the nation have had to increase their fuel charge to reflect the higher costs of natural gas,” he continued.
The increase by GP&L is less than those approved recently by the Texas Public Utility Commission for several electric providers in Texas, including TXU Energy, Reliant Energy and CPL Retail Energy. In the Houston area, Reliant Energy has adopted a 20% increase in their residential price-to-beat rate while TXU Energy was granted a 20.8% increase in their fuel cost allocation for the Dallas/Ft. Worth area. At 10.8%, the GP&L increase is approximately half of the other increases approved by the PUC.
“Due to our mix of fuels, which includes coal as well as natural gas, GP&L has been able to meet our mandate by the Garland City Council to remain below TXU Energy’s price-to-beat,” said Harder. “However, we are not immune to the radical increases in the cost of natural gas that have affected the entire electric industry, and we must adequately cover our generation costs.”
GP&L customers who use 1000 kWh of electricity can anticipate that their overall electric bill will increase from $112.70 to $118.13. While this constitutes a nearly 5% rise in cost, GP&L’s total bill for electric service will continue to be less than TXU Energy’s price-to-beat at $124.44.
“By adequately covering our generation costs, GP&L will be able to continue to build and maintain a reliable electric system to meet the increasing electric needs of Garland’s citizens at the lowest possible cost,” Harder concluded.
