Your Gulf Power bill will be a bit higher in the new year. This week the Florida Public Service Commission announced that customers of three utilities in the state, including Gulf Power, will see a raise in the fuel charge portion of their bill. Gulf Power spokesman Jeff Rogers says last year the fuel charge decreased by 7.8%. This year's hike of 7.6% wipes out most, but not all of those savings.
The fuel Gulf Power uses to generate power is coal and natural gas. Jeff Rogers says the increase mainly comes from a hike in the cost of coal. Gulf Power says for a residential customer using 1000 kilowatt hours of electricity a month, the bill will increase $9.06 higher in the new year.
Gulf Power suggests going online to www.gulfpower.com to find way to save money on power bills.
The rate hike goes into effect on January first and will last a full year. The Public Service Commission looks at the fuel charges once a year in November.
