|
By Charlie Warner
Argus News Editor
After spending about 30 minutes considering various alternatives, the Caledonia City Council unanimously approved an across-the-board 12.5 percent increase for electric rates for all residential, commercial and industrial users. The action, taken during the May 26 council meeting, was prompted by notification earlier in the month by Tri-County Cooperative that wholesale electric rates went up 10 percent, effective May 1.
The city council reviewed the increase notice at the May 11 meeting and instructed city staff to bring a recommendation to the council. The council had discussed utilizing the services of Power Plus, a consulting firm the city sometimes uses, but later decided the $1,000 it would cost for the study could be better spent somewhere else.
The impact to the average residential user will be an increase of about $7.50 per month. A household with just one or two persons not using a lot of electricity will only see an increase of about $4 per month, while a family with a large electric appetite would be closer to a $12 per month increase.
City staff explained why a 12.5 percent increase had been recommended.
• The city had not had a permanent increase for the base rates and kilowatt hour (KWH) charges since July 1, 2006.
• The 10 percent increase in wholesale rates from Tri-County does not take into account any increases in wages, insurance, supplies, maintenance, etc. that have occurred over the past three years for the city to maintain the delivery system.
• The city’s electric department will be funding a system improvement project in 2010 of $640,000 and a second improvement project estimated at more than $1 million several years down the road.
According to Tri-County President Brian Krambeer, the local coop is passing on rate increases prompted by Dairyland Power cost adjustments beginning in January and wholesale rate increases that went into effect earlier this spring.
Krambeer explained that Tri-County provides wholesale electricity to eight different area municipalities. The other cities are Eitzen, Harmony, Mabel, Peterson, Rushford, Spring Grove and Whalan. The average, across-the-board increase, which was effective May 1, 2009, was 9.5 percent. The wholesale rates are adjusted each year on May 1.
The rate increases to Caledonia residents are for electricity usage beginning May 15. The city bills for electric use from the 15th of one month to the 15th of the next.
You can contact Charlie Warner at
This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
|
