PORT TOWNSEND — The Jefferson County Public Utility District has taken measures to make its electric rate hike easier for schools and low-income residents to digest.
PUD commissioners approved the rate hike Tuesday, softening the rate increase for schools and making it easier for low-income customers to qualify for a credit on their account, said spokesman Will O’Donnell.
“We heard the schools’ comments and we support them and want to not put the schools in a financial bind,” he said. “We understand the constraints of their budgets, so we tried to spread it out over a few years to accommodate that.”
The increase for schools was spread out over the next three years, resulting in about a 3 percent increase in cost per kilowatt-hour (KWh) each year through 2020.
Those rate changes affect the Chimacum, Port Townsend and Quilcene public school districts’ cost for electricity. The new rate changes are effective March 1.
The residential base rate increases from $14.50 to $18.50 and the consumption rate is increased by $0.0084 per KWh.
The PUD’s three-member board of commissioners previously approved a 2018 budget based on the increased revenues.
The PUD’s increase proposals were triggered by the Bonneville Power Administration’s biannual rate adjustments, which brought a 5.4 percent increase in the price of power to Jefferson PUD.
The PUD gets all of its power from the BPA, which is the district’s single biggest expense, accounting for 46 percent of its annual budget.
While increasing the residential power rate, commissioners also raised the low-income credit from $35 to $39.50, O’Donnell said.
They changed the requirements for eligibility for the program, making more people eligible for the credit.
Commissioners raised the eligibility cut-off from 125 percent of federal poverty level up to 150 percent of federal poverty level.
O’Donnell said there have been concerns about how the rate increases would effect Jefferson County’s low-income residents.
He said the utility district is looking into home energy efficiency loans that would be available to low-income residents, though that is still being studied.
“We’re doing more outreach to make sure people are aware of the programs that we have available,” he said.
The commissioners also gave their approval to consolidating the utility district’s customer service center.
Jefferson PUD currently has customer service staff in Chimacum and at its Four Corners location.
Customer service staff will move from Chimacum to the Four Corners office, O’Donnell said.
“We have one staff member leaving and we’re just not filling that position,” he said. “They’re moving on and we decided to consolidate and not hire that position.”
Other staff will still work at the Chimacum location, he said.
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Reporter Jesse Major can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 56250, or at jmajor@peninsuladailynews.com.
