NASHVILLE, Tenn. — They’re coming! High electric bills due to the recent winter storm and the cold snap that followed.
FOX 17 News reached out to Middle Tennessee Electric on incoming electric bills that include the two weeks of extreme cold following the Jan. 24 ice storm. The power company said they have been receiving similar questions.
Electric usage was higher than normal over the last few weeks, and many members will notice higher bills even though they might have been without power for an extended stretch of time, MTE said. And energy use increased significantly for those forced to use their emergency heat.
“According to Weather Underground data from the Nashville Airport weather station, January had 348 hours out of 744 with temperatures below 35 degrees. This is the threshold at which heat pumps begin to struggle to pull ambient heat from the air. As a result, approximately 46.8% of the month required electric strip (or emergency) heat to maintain indoor comfort,” according to MTE…