CARLSBORG — Clallam County Public Utility District commissioners have approved 3.5 percent electric rate increases for 2020 and 2021.
District commissioners voted 3-0 Monday to adopt electric, water and wastewater operating fund budgets and to establish electric system rate schedules.
The electric rate hikes will take effect April 1, 2020 and April 1, 2021.
An average residential customer using 1,250 kilowatt hours of electricity per month will pay an additional $4.45 per month beginning with April billing cycles, said Sean Worthington, PUD finance manager-treasurer.
Average monthly power bills will rise from $125.64 to $130.09, Worthington said.
In April 2021, a customer using the same amount of electricity can expect to pay an additional $4.59 per month.
“So over the full two years, the average customer that consumed that much would see about $100 [added] over the two years,” Worthington said at the commissioners’ meeting.
PUD officials say electric rate increases are needed to offset the rising cost of wholesale power from Bonneville Power Administration, which provides electricity to the Clallam County PUD and other local utilities.
Worthington said the Clallam County PUD’s electric rates are competitive with other PUDs.
The city of Port Angeles charges about $123 per month for residences using 1,250 kilowatt hours of electricity and Jefferson County PUD charges about $141 per month, according to Worthington’s analysis.
“It looks like we’re still kind of in the middle of the pack here,” Worthington said while displaying a rate comparison of 14 PUDs and other in-state providers.
“If you look at Port Angeles and Jefferson, we’re sandwiched right in between the two.”
Worthington added that the Clallam County PUD covers more territory — about 2,000 square miles — than most electric utilities, requiring more distribution poles, transmission lines and other infrastructure.
“It’s pretty astonishing that we’re able to keep our rates as low as someone like the city of Port Angeles,” Worthington said.
“They’re actually less than 1 percent of our service territory and we’re able to stay competitive.”
The Clallam County PUD’s electric rate schedule is broken into three components: a basic charge, energy charge and demand charge.
“Overall, each class of customer will be impacted about 3½ percent over the next two years,” Worthington said.
Last October, district commissioners authorized 4.2 percent water rate increases and 5.9 percent wastewater rate hikes in each of the next five years.
Commissioner Jim Waddell said the annual rate increases should be viewed as not-to-exceed amounts.
“It just places more due diligence on our part, I think, if we can say that we’re trying to do whatever we can to slow down those rate increases,” Waddell said.
PUD General Manager Doug Nass said the PUD has endeavored to make its rates more stable than they had been in the past.
“Let’s be clear,” Waddell said.
“It’s not a stable rate. It’s a stable rate increase.”
Commissioner Will Purser said about half of the PUD’s budget is purchased power from Bonneville.
He added that the approved rate increases are not-to-exceed amounts.
“If we approve this, the only way that the increase could be above that is it would have to come back to the commission for approval,” Purser said.
Budgets
The PUD’s approved 2020 electric budget shows $76.1 million in revenue, $75.2 million in expenses and adds $893,791 to a $20.4 million reserve.
The district’s water budget for 2020 has $5.7 million in revenue, $6.7 million in expenses and draws $937,382 from a $2.5 million reserve.
The PUD’s wastewater budget shows $159,099 in revenue, $158,795 in expenses and adds $304 to a $6,008 reserve.
In other action Monday, district commissioners approved a 2020 strategic plan.
The strategic plan is available on the PUD’s website.
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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 56450, or at rollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.
