Lafayette County and Oxford residents can expect their electric bills to rise starting Oct. 1, due to a rate increase approved by the Tennessee Valley Authority.

TVA, which supplies power to North East Mississippi Electric Power Association and Oxford Utilities, has implemented a 5.25% wholesale rate hike.

For the average North East Power member, who uses around 1,250 kWh a month, this increase will translate into an additional 28 cents per day, or about $8.65 per month, starting with the October bill.

Oxford Utilities customers will experience a 3.22% rate increase, which amounts to about $3.36 more on their monthly bills if they use 911 kWh, the average residential consumption. Higher usage will result in bigger bill increases.

According to TVA, the region’s population is growing three times faster than the national average, and TVA needs to ramp up power generation to meet the surging demand.

This increase will fund construction and energy development projects aimed at expanding capacity.

“We understand that any increase can be difficult for our members,” said Keith Hayward, CEO/General Manager of North East Power. “However, we anticipate this will be the last rate hike from TVA for the next four years.”