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High Electric Bills Getting Chilly Reception

High Electric Bills Getting Chilly Reception
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By Tim Brockwell
Jan. 23, 2014 | PADUCAH, KY
By Tim Brockwell Jan. 23, 2014 | 06:29 PM | PADUCAH, KY
If you experienced a moment of sheer terror as you opened your latest electric bill, you're not alone.

An unusually cold December, along with recent rate hikes have left some local folks with unusually high bills. With many people still reeling financially after the holidays, the added cost of keeping the lights on may be a particularly unwelcome burden this time of year. Paducah Power System Director of Community Relations & Marketing Andrea Underwood said the utility has been receiving calls from concerned residents who are wondering how they are going to make ends meet with such high electricity costs.

"We have had some calls from customers who are reporting a higher than usual bill, and the billing cycles vary throughout the month," Underwood said. "The folks who seem to have the highest bills are the ones who's billing cycles began at the beginning of December and ended at the end of December."

Local resident Christy Blake said she was shocked when her family's bill arrived in the mail.

"I was very surprised to open up the bill and see it was nearly $500.00," Blake said. "We're still recovering from Christmas, I don't know exactly what we'll do. I feel like we already run a fairly lean household. There aren't a lot of extravagances."

Underwood said several factors have come together over the past few weeks that have caused the unusually high bills.

"You've got folks who were seeing more usage with the holidays," Underwood said. "We had that horrible cold weather in December, and then you've got more cooking going on, and there are people using space heaters. It was kind of a perfect storm of sorts unfortunately."

With two recent rate hikes totaling 15 percent, and another 7.5 percent jump set for April 1, PPS customers may continue to see their bills go up in the future. Underwood said there are some ways people can save money by cutting down on usage.

"The biggest usage in homes right now is for heating, so any change you can make to that is something that can help. The problem is it's so cold that people are struggling to stay warm, so you have to balance what's good for you in terms of keeping the temperature down to conserve and still be comfortable." Underwood said.

For those who may be having a hard time coming up with the money to pay their bill, Underwood said it's important for them to contact PPS to make arrangements.

"One of the things that we want to stress to people is if they are having trouble paying their bill, then it's really important for them to get in touch with us immediately so we can talk with them and try to figure out a way to manage that and take care of it."

Blake said that although the cold weather has made her electric bill shoot up beyond what she expected, she is even more concerned about what a summer heat wave might bring.

"If we had this much for a winter bill, I can only imagine what it will be this summer." Blake said.
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