Rogers-Lowell Area News

SWEPCO Lowering Electric Costs Due to Federal Tax Cuts and Jobs Act

Due to the December 2017 Federal Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), SWEPCO’s Arkansas retail customers will see the benefit of lower electric costs beginning with bills issued Sept. 27, 2018. The TCJA credit on Arkansas customers’ bills will reflect an ongoing annual reduction of approximately $9.7 million plus a refund from October 2018 to December 2019 of approximately $22.5 million.

• The initial bill impact to an average residential customer using 905 kilowatt-hours (kWh) per month will be a credit of $8.74, or a 10.2 percent decrease to a total monthly bill through December 2019. After the October 2018 to December 2019 refund is complete, the initial 10.2 percent decrease will become an ongoing 3.4 percent decrease, or $2.93 per month. Decreases for individual residential customers will vary depending on electricity usage.

• For commercial and small industrial customers (500 kW, 150,000 kWh), the initial decrease will be about 8 percent. After the October 2018 to December 2019 refund is complete, the initial 8 percent decrease will become an ongoing 2.4 percent decrease. Commercial and industrial customer impact depends on rate schedule and usage level.

• The reduction was approved Sept. 24 by the Arkansas Public Service Commission as part of the APSC’s procedure covering the state’s eight investor-owned electric and gas utilities.

• The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), signed into law on Dec. 22, 2017, reduced the federal corporate income tax rate from 35 percent to 21 percent, resulting in a reduction to Arkansas utility companies’ tax liabilities effective Jan. 1, 2018.