Regulators cut Manley Hot Springs power surcharge, lowering typical home bill $43

The Regulatory Commission of Alaska on Friday approved a lower fuel surcharge for electric customers in Manley Hot Springs. The new rate takes effect Nov. 1.

The commission's letter order lowers TDX Manley Generating's cost of power adjustment from 80.65 cents to 64.16 cents per kilowatt-hour. The cost of power adjustment passes fuel costs through to customers. A typical household using 261 kilowatt-hours a month will see its total bill fall from $277.19 to $234.15, a drop of $43.04 or about 15.5%. All five commissioners concurred with the staff recommendation.

The Alaska Energy Authority lists TDX Manley Generating as the Manley Hot Springs utility, serving 112 residential customers and 82 community-facility customers.

The cut comes two months after a steep increase. In August, the utility asked regulators to raise the surcharge from 29.61 cents to 81.57 cents per kilowatt-hour starting Sept. 1, as Alaska News reported Aug. 22.

The commission also changed how the utility estimates its fuel costs. Commissioners waived a state regulation so TDX Manley Generating can count solar generation in that estimate. TDX Power says it installed a solar array with battery storage in Manley in late 2023. Until this filing, the utility's method treated all of its generation as diesel and so overestimated its fuel costs, according to commission staff.

An earlier commission order directed the utility to separate its solar and diesel generation, update that method and file by Oct. 15 using actual July and August data. The utility filed Oct. 15 and submitted the final tariff sheets Oct. 27.

The state Power Cost Equalization credit, which offsets part of residential bills, stays at its statutory maximum of 74.24 cents per kilowatt-hour. The Small Facility Power Purchase Rate, which the utility pays small independent power producers, rises from 59.83 cents to 69.77 cents per kilowatt-hour.

Commission staff found the utility met state standards for how efficiently it generates power and how much it loses on its lines in July and August 2025.

TDX Manley Generating updates the surcharge through quarterly filings with the commission.