When electric rate cap removals take effect Jan. 1, 2010, customers could see an increase of about 35 percent in their electric bills

“I wish I had good news,” Donald E. Stringfellow, regional community relations director with PPL, told a group of local Kiwanians.

The average cost per kilowatt-hour for PPL customers is about 11 cents now.

The rate increase is predicted to raise that cost 14.05 cents.

A kilowatt hour is equal to 1,000 watts of energy for one full hour — the equivalent of running a 100 watt light bulb for 100 hours.

A monthly bill, which covers the cost of the electricity and “cost to deliver it” could increase 35 percent, Stringfellow said.

He explained why the rate caps are being removed across the utility industry. “The primary driver for the price increase is the cost of the fuel to produce the electricity,” Stringfellow said. “Coal and natural gas have doubled in price in the past 10 years.