Georgia Power announced today that it has made its final compliance filing with the Georgia Public Service Commission as required by the company's 2013 rate settlement agreement. The filing indicates a 2016 base rate adjustment of $144 million or 1.8 percent, which is $26 million less than originally projected in 2013. The estimated $2.45 per month increase will be more than offset by the recently announced fuel rate decrease of approximately $4 on the typical residential customer's 2016 bill.

More than 50 percent of the base rate adjustment is associated with the cost to comply with recent federal regulations by the Environmental Protection Agency, such as the Mercury Air Toxics Standards Rule. Georgia Power is also recovering costs of investments in infrastructure required to maintain high levels of reliability and superior customer service.

If current filings are approved by the PSC, new lower bills for customers will be possible beginning Jan. 1, 2016.