The 1973 Georgia Territorial Electric Service Act established retail competition between electricity suppliers in Georgia. This act gives customers with connected loads of 900 kilowatts or greater a choice of electricity supplier.

The act assigns exclusive power supply areas throughout the state. The state's 42 electric membership cooperatives are assigned 71 percent of the state's land area, with the remaining area designated to Georgia Power Company or municipal power systems.

There are exceptions to these assigned areas that give some new customers the choice of their power suppliers. These are:

• Connected loads of 900 KW or greater, at the time of initial full operation, excluding redundant equipment, located outside municipal limits, may be supplied by any supplier.

• In areas annexed to a municipality after March 29, 1973, loads of 900 KW or greater may be served by any electric supplier owning lines in the municipality.

• In a wholly new municipality, loads of 900KW or greater are customer choice.-

• One supplier's service line (below 120,000 volts) crossing another supplier's assigned area creates "corridor rights."
  
  Customers within the corridor may be able to choose the supplier whose service line their facilities are near. Corridors are established at 300 feet from the line to the customer's premises inside city limits, and 500 feet outside city limits.
  
  Other cases exist that require determination by the electrical suppliers. For example, lines built for the sole purpose of servicing large loads may or may not have corridor rights associated with them.

This competition is made possible in part because Georgia's major power suppliers jointly own the state's transmission lines and substation facilities. The Integrated Transmission System is a joint service agreement with Georgia Transmission Corporation, which provides transmission and associated services to Georgia's EMCs; Georgia Power Company; MEAG Power; and Dalton Utilities. This agreement was designed to reduce the cost of electricity for Georgia consumers by avoiding duplication of facilities and through joint planning to enhance electric service reliability.

 

Energy Deregulation

Although currently under way in 24 states and the District of Columbia, which have histories of high electric costs, deregulation of electricity suppliers is unlikely to occur in Georgia in the near future. According to the State's Public Service Commission (PSC), "Georgia's electric customers enjoy retail rates at or below the national average, so there is not the same urgency to restructure as in some other states." Therefore, clear evidence of benefits to the citizens of the state should be shown prior to any electric industry restructuring in Georgia.

Regardless of future PSC action, Marietta Power will continue working to provide you with reliable electrical power at the most reasonable rates possible.

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Records & Rates

Billing Date

Marietta Power issues bills in 17 billing cycles. Your actual billing date will vary no more than one or two days during a month. Should you not receive your bill near your normal billing date, please call, as we cannot accept responsibility for delays in mailing caused by the postal service.

Your billing date is determined by your service location. All billing cycles are arranged geographically to make our meter reading system as efficient as possible. Our meter readers use a hand-held computer to enter meter readings. This device may ask for verification if the consumption appears to be abnormally high or low. Meter reading accuracy is monitored and is consistently over 99%.

Due Date - 10% Discount Given

The amount of your bill is determined by the actual amount of consumption that you used. If you pay your bill within 10 days of the date of billing, you may pay the 10% discounted amount that is offered for early payment (electric service only).Customers paying after the due date should pay the actual gross amount.

Cut Off Date

The cut-off date is 10 days after the due date.

Purchase Power Adjustment

This amount reflects the annual cost of fuel used to generate the electricity for that particular billing period. The cost of fuel fluctuates monthly so it is not in the base rate. It is trued up every January for the following year.

Tax (If Applicable)

A sales tax of 5% is applied to the electric portion of your bill.

Franchise Fee

A franchise tax of 4% is applied to your electric bill if you are within the City of Marietta limits.

Discount

If you pay your bill within 10 days of the date of billing, you may pay the 10% discounted amount which is offered for early payment (electric service only). Customers making payment after this date should pay the actual amount/gross.

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