Fairburn council members July 10 approved a 2.2 percent power cost adjustment increase in electric rates beginning in October, designed to offset the ongoing loss to the city due to fluctuating national energy costs. The city will write off the $400,000 loss already incurred.

The move follows a recommendation by Municipal Electric Authority of Georgia (MEAG), said City Administrator Jim Williams. Since the 9/11 attack and more recent natural disasters such as Hurricane Katrina, electric costs to wholesale customers such as the City of Fairburn have fluctuated substantially, Williams said. Companies such as Georgia Power and the EMCs have already instituted at Power Cost Adjustment.

Williams said MEAG had recommended raising rates now to offset current losses. Those losses amount to approximately $400,000 for Fairburn. The council voted, instead, to implement a 2.2 percent increase at the beginning of the next fiscal year in October and to write off current losses rather than passing those losses on to customers.