PORT ANGELES — Tuesday’s public hearing on a proposed 9.8 percent electricity rate increase was continued until the City Council’s Sept. 6 meeting.
The new rates could be adopted at either that meeting or the City Council’s Sept. 20 meeting.
The new rates would become effective Oct. 1.
The council chambers were virtually empty during the hearing, with only city staff, the press and City Council candidates Cherie Kidd and Peter Ripley in attendance.
The new rates will help the city pay for an increase in Bonneville Power Administration’s wholesale power rate that could be as high as 3.9 percent, said Deputy Director of Power Systems Scott McLain.
It also will help the city rebuild reserves depleted by four years of stubbornly high power rates, he said.
The monthly bill for a residential customer using 1,500 kilowatt-hours a month would increase from $86.90 to $95.45 under the proposal.
The $11 base charge, a flat monthly fee, would remain the same under the proposal.
But the energy charge, which is based upon usage, would increase from 5.06 cents per kilowatt-hour to 5.63 cents.
