The Freemont Tribune reports:
Fremont utilities customers can expect electric, water and sewer rate increases under a proposed budget approved by the Board of Public Works last Wednesday.
The City Council will hear an overview of the Department of Utilities two-year budget proposal prior to Tuesday’s 7 p.m. meeting on the second floor of the Municipal Building. A public comment period is set for 6:15 p.m. followed by a 6:30 p.m. study session
Much of the electric rate increase can be blamed on $46.758 million worth of upgrades at the Lon D. Wright Power Plant to comply with new Environmental Protection Agency regulations.
The city council last month awarded a contract to Fagen Inc. of Granite Falls, Minn., to add emissions control equipment to the plant, and approved issuance of nearly $10 million in bonds toward the project. The Utility Department will use about $7 million in reserves, and Utilities General Manager Derril Marshall said another $30 million in bonds will be issued next year… [Emphasis added]
Delivering for the middle-class is the Obama administration’s motto.
That’s a big expenditure for a town of 26k. When it is translated to an increase for the average user of ~$5/month, it sounds like nothing. The average electric bill varies enough that you really wouldn’t notice a $5 change. The real effect will be on the commercial users, where a 6% increase translates to significant dollars. I wonder what $46 million in efficiency improvements would do to rates.