Alabama Power Company
Alabama Power is a member company of the Southern Company, one of the
largest investor owned utilities in the U.S. This enables APC to have
a very stable financial base, as well as the service reliability and
power quality required by industry. With 6,715 employees, APC provides
electricity and associated services to approximately 1,357,325 customers
in Alabama. The kWh generation mix by source is 62% fossil fuel, 19%
nuclear, 6% hydro and 13% oil, gas & other sources. APC is directly
connected to the Southern Company transmission system that operates
a total generating capacity of more than 40,000 megawatts in its control
area. APC has numerous rates and rate options that are attractive to industry,
which helps control the actual cost per kWh. In the past several years
its Rates and Regulatory Section has created over sixty new rates and
rate riders, providing customers with numerous pricing options, including
real time pricing and time of use tariffs which may be customized to
a specific operation. APC has strategies in place to control operating
costs and increase efficiency, resulting in even more competitive pricing.
Rate
LPLM (applicable to manufacturing entities in SIC Codes 20-39) and
Rate LPTL (Time-of-Use Large) are two APC tariffs
that are typically
applied to metals fabricating and manufacturing operations. Under these
rates, there are several factors that will impact a company’s
average annual cost per kWh.
Rate LPLM is a demand tariff and Rate LPTL is a time of use tariff.
Both rates are differentiated by Service Voltage Level. The following
table represents Service Voltage Levels and corresponding Typical
Service Voltages provided by APC. Industries have the option of owning
and maintaining the local transformation facilities and receiving
the savings from the applicable tariff for the demand and fuel cost
discounts (i.e. Primary Service vs. Secondary Service).
| Sevice Voltage Level |
Typical Service Voltage (select one) |
| Transmission |
44,000 volts (phase – phase) |
| Primary |
13,800 volts; 13,200 volts; 12,470 volts; 4,160 volts
(phase – phase) |
| Secondary |
120/208 volts; 120/240 volts; 277/480 volts |
APC’s industrial
rates have been extremely stable over the past ten years and customers continue
to pay prices that are 15% below the national average. Competitive electric
pricing, high power quality and attention to customer needs are why APC continues
to rank in the top five of 80 regional electric utilities in independent
customer satisfaction surveys.
Alabama Gas Corporation
Alabama Gas Corporation (Alagasco), a subsidiary of the Birmingham-based Energen Corporation, is the largest natural gas utility in Alabama. The company serves approximately 463,000 customers in nearly 200 cities and 27 counties in central and north Alabama.
The
company started as the Montgomery Gas Light Company in 1852. Today, Alagasco
has more than 1,000 employees
in seven operating divisions – Gadsden, Montgomery, Birmingham, Tuscaloosa, Anniston, Opelika, and Selma – and
in smaller district offices in the surrounding areas.
Alagasco serves more than 25,000 customers in Gadsden and neighboring communities through five delivery stations, all in Etowah County. Delivery pressures range from 4 ounces to 150 psig. The heating value averages 1021 BTUs per cubic foot at a specific gravity of 0.57.
In the early 1980s, Alagasco purchased nearly all of its natural gas supply from
one major interstate pipeline. Today, the company purchases its gas from more
than 20 different suppliers. The gas is transported to Alagasco’s distribution
system through two major interstate and two smaller intrastate pipelines. The
distribution system, which includes service lines for individual customers, encompasses
nearly 20,000 miles of pipe.
A portion of Alagasco’s gas supply comes from sources in Alabama, such as Mobile
Bay, the gas fields of Tuscaloosa and the coal seams in Oak Grove and Vance.
Additional supplies come from the Gulf of Mexico, Texas and Louisiana. A diversified
gas supply portfolio allows the company to offer its customers the lowest possible
price and be more flexible in its gas purchases.
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