Alabama Power blames cold for skyrocketing bills, announces grace period
Just as Joanna Lochamy began thawing out from this month's cold snap, she was shocked to open her mother's power bill.
Alabama Power was charging $773 for one month of electricity.
“That's a lot of money. That's a lot of money to have to fork out, especially when you're on a fixed income,” Lochamy said.
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She recognizes how extreme weather can drive up utility costs. However, she wonders why the bill is so high since she limits the home's central heat usage and even chops wood to stay warm inside.
“Especially when we use a wood-burning fireplace and I try to be mindful of the energy that we use around here,” Lochamy said.
“I want an answer as to why my power bill is this much,” customer Magen Mahon said.
Her most recent electric bill came in at $826. She lives in a 1,280-square-foot house with her boyfriend and four-year-old daughter. Both work full-time and there is nobody home 12 hours a day during the week.
“That is more than my car payment and my car insurance together,” Mahon said.
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The last Alabama Power rate hike came in 2022. The average customer's bill, using 1,000 kilowatts, jumped about $22 a month. When you factor in the amount of power Mahon's bill shows she used, the new rates equal a $118 bump.
That still does not explain how Mahon and Lochamy's bills more than doubled in a few months.
So, we asked Alabama Power spokesperson Anthony Cook for an explanation.
“Our customers used 25% more electricity this month compared to last January from what we're seeing so far. And that's directly tied to the cold snap,” Cook said.
Wednesday, Cook announced that they had received such an influx of high bill complaints, the pledge not to cut off a customer’s electricity due to lack of payment through March 15.
Just how much colder has been this month? We crunched the numbers.
Compared to last year's January billing cycle, we found Birmingham's average daily temperature did dip six degrees this month.
That’s an eleven percent drop.
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Unfortunately for customers like Mahon, the worst is yet to come. Her sky-high bill did not include that mid-January week of sub-freezing conditions.
“There are people that are picking between their groceries. Yeah, probably with children in the home and paying a power bill,” Mahon said.
She has even started an online petition asking for a cap on customer's power bills.
So far, nearly three thousand people have signed up, clearly a sign that this winter's skyrocketing power bills are hitting many people hard. Especially when that means finding $773 just to keep the lights on.
“We're talking about that's a lot of money. It's just a lot of money to have to fork out,” Lochamy said.
In addition to announcing the cutoff grace period through March 15, Alabama Power is offering a few tips for customers facing steep power bills.
First, do not hesitate to call them to set up payment arrangements to avoid forking over the entire balance at once.
They say you can also seek help from Project Share, which assists elderly or disabled neighbors.
Finally, you can always check to see if you and your family qualify for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program.