North Olympic Peninsula power customers have reported increases in their power bills, the result of what power managers say is the combined effect of a very cold December, a small increase in power costs, in some cases a long billing cycle, and a new billing system.
In Port Townsend, a new billing system is the biggest difficulty reported by customers in recent weeks, but there has been some sticker shock over recent bills, said Jim Parker, manager for the Jefferson County Public Utility District.
“It’s cold out there. Your bill is going to be bigger,” Parker said.
Jefferson’s billing system has a very low base rate, and multiple tiers for power usage, with increasing costs when customers use a lot of electricity, he said.
Parker said the billing system results in very low summer bills, and very high winter bills.
“We have big, dramatic swings,” he said, and noted that he is working on plans to change the system.
Port Angeles
Port Angeles City Council approved a 5 percent rate increase for 2016, effective as of Jan. 1.
For a typical Port Angeles city utility customer whose electric bill is usually about $100 per month, the bill would increase to $105, said Phil Lusk, deputy director of power systems and telecommunications.
That small increase is not nearly enough to account for the $100 increases some customers have reported, Lusk said.
Customers need to make sure they are reading only the electric portion of their city utility bill, which also includes other charges, including water and trash collection, he said.
Lusk said the cold snap that started in early November increased the amount of power being used. That is partly the cause of some of the rise in power use customers are seeing on their bills.
Additionally, a billing cycle one month can be as short as 26 days, and the next month can be as long as 35 days — resulting in a bill that can be about a third higher than the month before, he said.
Clallam PUD
For customers of the Clallam County Public Utilities District, the cold snap and billing cycles are the most probable causes of higher bills, said Mike Howe, spokesman for the PUD.
The PUD’s rate hike doesn’t take effect until April, he said.
The new 3.8 percent increase will take effect April 1 and will cost about $4.20 per month for the average PUD residential customer.
Howe said the cost of the PUD’s new building in Carlsborg is also not reflected on current bills, he said.
Not all customers are on the same billing cycle, which depends in individual meter reader routes, he said.
If anyone has a question about their bill, billing period or amount of power used, or to see if an error might have occurred, they should call the PUD customer service line at 360-452-9771.
“We can answer all their questions,” Howe said.
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Reporter Arwyn Rice can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5070, or at arice@peninsuladailynews.com.
