The average customer with Georgia Power Co. will save 64 cents per month after Tuesday’s vote by the Public Service Commission.

The reduction, which starts June 1, reflects a drop in the cost of fuel the utility burns in generating electricity. The major decrease was in natural-gas prices.

Only Commissioner Tim Echols voted no, not because he’s opposed to saving consumers, he said, but because he wanted a bigger reduction.

The state law that gives Georgia Power a monopoly in its region also permits the commission to set rates and profit targets. At the same time, it ensures that all of the cost of fuel legitimately consumed in generating electricity be passed on without a profit to the company’s customers — eventually.

Morriss News Service / Rome News Tribune