FuelClub Discount

Customers of Alabama Power Co. might see their rates go up as customers of some other Southeastern utilities have seen due to rising costs for coal and natural gas.

Alabama’s utility regulatory commission instructed its staff Tuesday to look into the amount Alabama Power is receiving to cover its fuel costs. The Public Service Commission acted after Alabama Power reported that it spent $24.6 million more on fuel in June than it recovered from its customers.

Alabama Power spokeswoman Jan Ellis said the utility has discussed its rising costs for coal and natural gas with the PSC, but it is premature to say what might happen in the coming months.

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Senator Barack Obama altered his position on Monday to call for tapping the nation’s Strategic Petroleum Reserve to lower gasoline prices as he outlined an energy plan that contrasts with Senator John McCain’s greater emphasis on expanded offshore drilling and coal and nuclear technology.

In a speech here and in a new advertisement, Obama, the presumptive Democratic nominee, also sought to portray his Republican rival, McCain, as “in the pocket” of oil giants that are profiting from gasoline priced at more than $4 a gallon. And in his speech, Obama called for a windfall profits tax on oil companies to finance rebates for Americans.

At the heart of Obama’s proposals is a focus on fostering alternative energy development by investing $150 billion in emerging technologies and renewable fuels. Seeking to put a million fuel-efficient hybrid plug-in automobiles on the road, he said that he would offer a $7,000 tax credit to buyers, the overall cost of which he did not specify. In addition, Obama said his goal was to have 10 percent of the country’s energy needs met by renewable resources by the end of his first term, more than double the current figure.

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The UN is to halt food handouts for up to 800,000 Palestinians from today because of a severe fuel shortage in Gaza brought on by an Israeli economic blockade.

John Ging, the director of operations in Gaza for the UN Relief and Works Agency, which supports Palestinian refugees, said there had been a “totally inadequate” supply of fuel from Israel to Gaza for 10 months until it was finally halted two weeks ago. “The devastating humanitarian impact is entirely predictable,” he said.
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