Alabama Power has announced a new rate increase, their third such announcement in 2022. This one will begin on your January bill and -with the previous two increases- amounts to a roughly $22/month increase in your bill over the last 6 months.

• August rate increase announcement
• December 2022 rate increase announcement

"Our customers expect us to deliver reliable, resilient energy, and in order to best serve our customers we are preparing for the future," Alabama Power Spokesperson Beth Thomas said.

Speaking of resiliency, NBC 15 asked if this increase is in any way connected to the attack on North Carolina's power grid.

"It's not related, great question, but it's not related," Thomas said.

Statement on January 2023 rate increase released by Alabama Power:

Our customers expect us to deliver reliable and resilient energy 24/7, 365 days a year. In order to best serve our customers, we must prepare for the future.

As a result, customers will see an adjustment on January 2023 bills driven primarily by compliance with federal requirements as well as unprecedented inflation and economic conditions. These federal mandates and regulations, with which the company and utilities across the country must comply, continue to put pressure on customer costs.

The increase in the cost to our customers associated with these federal requirements will be about $6.81 for the typical residential customer using 1,000 kilowatt hours each month.

As these federal policies impact our state, we are here to help customers who may need assistance. Customers can chat with us online at AlabamaPower.com, give us a call at 800-245-2244 or visit us in person at one of our offices.

To help customers reduce bills, we offer tips for better managing energy use, finding ways to save and utilizing assistance programs.

Make sure you have an online account and that your information is up to date.

Customers with an online account can pay via Apple Pay, Google Pay, Venmo and PayPal. These payment methods are within our online customer care portal.

You can also better understand and manage energy usage by enrolling in My Power Usage on your online account. The tool shows daily and monthly use, projected bill amounts and sends alerts when bills reach a set dollar amount.

More tips can be found at AlabamaPower.com/Winterize.

As it relates to assistance, Medicaid patients can save $14.50 on monthly power bills. To sign up, visit your nearest business office for an application or call us at 1-800-257-APCO.

Community partners also may be able to help. More information can be found on Community Action Agencies at AlabamaPower.com/PaymentAssistance.