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Huntsville Utilities explains winter billing spike, audits underway
Summary
Huntsville Utilities told the City Council that prolonged cold, heat-pump auxiliary heating and TVA pass-through charges largely drove unusually high winter bills; the utility has initiated multiple audits and invited affected customers to meet staff in the lobby for one-on-one help.
Huntsville City Council heard a detailed explanation on March 26 from Huntsville Utilities about unusually large winter 2026 customer bills and the steps the utility is taking to address them. CEO Wes Kelly said a combination of prolonged sub-40-degree weather, auxiliary heat on residential heat pumps, TVA demand-metering and a TVA fuel-cost adjustment were the main drivers of higher usage and charges.
"When auxiliary heat kicks in, you're gonna use 2 to 3 times the amount of energy you were using before," Kelly told the council, explaining why homes with electric heat pumps saw bills spike during the cold snap. He also described the fuel cost adjustment as a TVA pass-through that varies monthly and can materially change a customer's bill.
Kelly provided system-level figures: Huntsville Utilities serves about 235,000 electric accounts and about…
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