Energy is costing more these days. The Tennessee Valley Authority announced rate increases because of higher natural gas prices.

TVA attributes the rise in natural gas pricing to “geopolitical events, economic growth, and tight supply.” So is TVA just pushing the problem off to someone else or is this a real issue? A Reuters report from May explains that “with fewer exports of Russian energy, countries in Europe and elsewhere are trying to secure supply.

“The United States has helped by diverting cargoes of liquefied natural gas (LNG) to Europe, and many expect LNG demand to continue to surge as European nations shun Russia in the years to come.”

Reuters went on to say that the U.S. has generally been isolated in the LNG market, producing enough for both domestic consumption as well as some to export. “However, export demand is rising, and even though the United States cannot add capacity at a moment’s notice, expectations of a continued call on that demand are boosting the price of natural gas.”

Why does that affect your power bill? It’s the cost of natural gas that TVA incurs to generate electricity, which ultimately gets passed down to local power companies. If you want to know exactly how all of this gets factored into rates, read TVA’s explanation, which is linked in this story online.

Northern Alabama is not the only area seeing these increases, this is a nationwide problem. Everyone’s increase may look different. But if you pay Athens Utilities, your rate was around $.09 per kWh in June, and it will be $.11 in July and $.12 in August. That’s a 22 percent increase this month and another nine percent next month. It doesn’t help that it’s happening in the hotter months when many of us will also likely increase our kWh usage by turning down the air conditioner more often.

While you might feel it in your pocketbook, some other areas around the nation are in worse positions than we are. That’s because TVA has diversified its energy sources and set a goal to to be net-zero carbon by 2050. How does this help you now? Because the agency is currently 56 percent carbon-free, more than half of their energy production is not affected by rise in fossil fuel costs, like natural gas.

As that percentage increases in years to come, ratepayers will see a decline in costs. And, that’s not just in 30 years from now. Just this month, TVA put out a request for clean energy proposals that could be operational by 2029. They plan to add enough solar electricity by 2035 to power 1.6 million single-family homes.

You might ask, what’s the point if you’re paying more today? You’re paying today for those natural gas price raises that you won’t be paying for if TVA is able to reach these clean energy goals. They will rely less and less on the fuel that causes the costs to rise. If you need help affording your power bill today because of rate increases, there are some things you can do.

The federally funded Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program can help. TVA also has their Home Uplift program, which can help if your home is in need of energy upgrades and you meet income qualifications and other requirements. And, if you call Athens Utilities to ask for their suggestions for low income assistance, they will give you local organizations that are able to help.

The thing to remember here is that everything in this world is connected. When you break it down, we’re paying the price on our energy bills for Russia’s attack on Ukraine and their subsequent pull back on distributing energy to the rest of the world. What’s the best way for us to make sure this kind of thing can’t happen again? Less reliance on fossil fuels and more reliance on renewable energy, right at home.