Cape May County Herald, 16 August 1979 IIIF issue link — Page 31

Thursday. August 16,1979

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The Herald And The Lantern

Iran Nigeria Venezuela Abu Dhabi Libya

Up 66%* Up 66% Up 63% Up 63% Up 69%

* Pride Increases since January 1979

The price of oil is exploding, ond there's still no end in sight. We've oil seen what the oil shortoge has done to the price of gasoline. Now hearing oil customers are finding sharp increases in their bills as well. Our electric customers haven't hod to cope with the effects of the Oil Crisis in their bills yet because the Energy Adjustment is levelized to cover our company’s fuel costs for on entire year. Dut unfortunately, the recent price increases from the oil exporting countries will rotolly outstrip the fuel costs we expected to pay this year. To moke matters even worse. Salem II Nuclear Generating' Sraridn, which has been ready to start producing power since Spring, is still unlicensed. This means that we have to bum millions more gallons of oil ot exorbitant prices while Salem II remains unavailable. The fuels we bum to generate your electricity this year will cost about $20 million more than our best estimote at the beginning of this year. And it now appears thof we will hove to collect on additional $55 million in 1980. These fuel cost increases, along with Gross Receipts and Franchise Taxes will force us to apply for on increase of almost $85 million in the Energy Adjustment, the

first Energy Adjustment increase since April, 1978. As a result, your electric bills could increase by ot least 20% in the near future. Not one penny of this money will stay in Atlantic Electric: in fact, most of it probably won t even stay in the country. The Energy Adjustment is used only to pay the costs of electric generating fuels os they ore set by our fuel suppliers. Atlantic Electric hos cut its oil dependence in half since the Oil Embargo five years ago, while the rest of the country wos doubling its foreign oil dependence. We've established o record of leadership in conserving oil ond conrrolling energy costs, ond we ore now faking ond will continue to take further steps to cut our oil usage. , Unfortunately, no matter how successful we are in controlling our fuel use ond costs, you will still be faced with higher electric bill increases than you hove ever seen before. Energy conservation has always been desirable. Now saving energy will be on economic necessity. In the next few weeks, we ll be telling you more about how we ll be fighting the Oil Crisis, ond how you con defend yourself against the rising costs this Crisis is cousing.

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Atlantic Electric

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(This advertisement paid for bjJ the stockholders of Atlantic Electric.)

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