Starting this fall, Alabama Power customers can expect to spend a little more to heat and cool their homes.

The company in October is eliminating a tax credit for customers that goes back about three decades, according to Alabama Power spokesman Ike Pigott. The move will increase power bills by 3 percent.

“Rather than mess around with a formula involving the base rate, the Public Service Commission allowed us to reclaim this tax credit,” Pigott said. “We’ve been paying out, or not charging it to customers, for about 30 years.”

Alabama Power has about 32,000 residential customers in the corridor from Fultondale to Hayden and from Cardiff to County Line.

The purpose of the increase is to replenish Alabama Power’s storm reserve fund, which Pigott said was essentially wiped out by the April tornadoes that tore through the state.

The utility expects to put $30 million back into the fund by the end of 2011, and $150 million by the end of 2012. The fund reportedly contained $127 million before the storms.

Alabama Power suffered $200 million in damage from the storms when 888 miles of wire was downed, 318 substations were damaged or destroyed, and 7,600 poles were destroyed.

In addition, 170 transmission lines were out of service. They get power from the plant to substations. Pigott said Alabama Power officials were surprised at the large amount of transmission damage.

Very little of the material is covered by insurance.

“For all intents and purposes, that’s self-insured,” Pigott said.