EPB Budget Includes No Electric Rate Increase; 8% TV Rate Increase Planned For Fall

  • Friday, June 19, 2020
  • Gail Perry

The EPB board of directors met Friday morning for the purpose of presenting the budget and the corporate goals for the upcoming year. The approved budget for the electric system in fiscal year 2020-2021 is $585 million and there will be no rate increase. The budget for the fiber optics side of the business, which has 111,000 customers, is flat from the previous year at $175 million. There will be no increase in Internet and phone service but an eight percent increase in video is planned for the fall.

 

EPB has the capability to provide streaming, which is a growing segment of business. The significance was noted of recognizing how important that fiber business is for holding down electric rates. There has been no rate increase in electricity since 2015 due to the money brought in by the fiber optic system.

 

Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Greg Eaves in the monthly financial report said during May $128,000 was lost. This was attributed to lower energy sales since a lot of businesses were closed down in May and less demand because of the weather. The cost of storm damage was also to blame, plus sales of fiber optics was lower because EPB issued credits to customers during the time they were not provided service due to the storms. But $25 million against the budget of $19 million was made from fiber optics as people are moving to streaming platforms.

 

Goals of the corporation are focused on five areas, said President and CEO David Wade. “Community Value,” is the mission to improve quality of life and to leverage assets, including technology and facilities that play a role in economic development. One example is by assuring new customers they will receive reliable power and to help them obtain credits. EPB is also investing in diversity by soliciting bids from small business run by minorities and women, as well as in hiring individuals.

 

Being a good steward of energy contributes to the goal of “Environmental Leadership.” EPB wants to ensure that its products are being used efficiently. One way, is by ensuring the right household conditions. Providing value to the consumer and financial stewardship also contribute to environmental leadership goal by maintaining financial strength and liquidity. The company took a pretty big hit this year with the storms but has the liquidity providing ability to survive another tornado if one occurs, said Mr. Wade.

 

Another objective is “Developing People.” Nothing is done without the employees, he said, they make the difference, so developing the workforce is also a target.

 

“Exceptional Customer Experience” is delivered by providing great products and great reliability. A shift to streaming has begun. Because the content pricing has been averaging an eight percent increase each year from companies that provide video to EPB, it has gotten to the point that that cost will have to be passed on to the consumer, he said.

 

But an improvement is being made to the website that will give customers the ability to figure out what is best for them. Mr. Wade said that EPB is locked into “packages” it can offer because the folks that own the content dictate combinations of stations that are theirs, so to offer one channel, EPB may be required to offer several other stations with it. The website is adding a “recommendation engine” that allows the customer to enter the type of programming they like to watch and will then make suggestions for the package that most closely match those selections. He said, "It is not our job to push our products but to help people decide."

 

The fifth goal set by EPB is to “Prepare for the Future.” They must look five to 10 years ahead for emerging trends and technology. On the list now is upgrading the fiber network which is 10 years old, in order to maintain the status it holds. EPB is also preparing to generate and store power itself, that will not just replace what is bought from TVA. This supplemental energy will allow additional power to be put where it is most needed.

 

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