PORT ANGELES — Clallam County Public Utility District commissioners have scheduled public meetings this week on proposed hikes in electric, water and wastewater rates.
Commissioners are considering a 3.5 percent increase in the electrical rate beginning April 1 and 6 percent rate increases for water and sewer rates beginning Jan. 1.
The rate hikes will be part of the 2015 budget to be considered for approval at a commissioners meeting at 1:30 p.m. Monday, Dec. 15, at the PUD main office at 2431 E. Highway 101, Port Angeles, said Mike Howe, PUD spokesman, in a news release Friday.
This week, meetings on the rates are planned in Sequim and Forks. They are:
■ Sequim — 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. Wednesday, Sequim Library, 630 N. Sequim Ave.
■ Forks — 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. Thursday, JT’s Sweet Stuffs, 80 N. Forks Ave.
The 2015 budget, which is expected to be approved Dec. 15, is based on the proposed rate increases, Howe said.
“Rate increases for our utilities are necessary at this time,” said Doug Nass, PUD general manager, in the news release.
“BPA increases, regulatory mandates, operational and maintenance costs result in rate pressures that need to be addressed.”
For electric utility customers, a 3.5 percent increase in retail electric utility rates amounts to an increase of about $3.35 per month for the average residential customer using 1,200 kilowatt hours per month, Howe said.
For water utility customers, a 6 percent rate increase will result in about $2.50 more per month on the average bill, he added, while average sewer customers will see an increase of about $2.40 per month on their bills.
Retail rate increases associated with water and wastewater are largely a result of increased maintenance costs and infrastructure needs, Howe said.
Electric rates rose 3.5 percent in July.
That increase followed a 3 percent rise in 2013, a 3 percent bump in 2012 and an 8 percent spike in 2010.
Agency officials said in July that the hike was needed to help offset a 9.5 percent rise in wholesale rates charged by the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA), which supplies the PUD’s power and represents 45 percent of its total budget.
The proposed April increase would be the second stemming from the BPA wholesale rate increase in 2013, Howe said.
“To minimize the impact to customers, the PUD delayed the second half until 2015, instead of doing it all in 2014,” he said.
Next October, the BPA is expected to raise rates again, this time by somewhere between 6 percent and 9 percent, Howe said.
PUD officials said in July that the rate increase also was needed to offset rising costs of materials, operations, maintenance and technology, and warned that renewable energy and conservation mandates will lead to more rate increases in the future.
The voter-approved Washington Energy Independence Act, for example, requires that the Clallam County PUD obtain 15 percent of its electricity from wind, solar or other renewable source by 2020.
The two scheduled public forums and the Dec. 15 meeting are the final opportunities for the public to learn more about the reasoning behind the proposed rate increases and to offer input.
PUD commissioners opened the budget hearing at the Oct. 6 meeting. They also conducted a work session on the budget Nov. 25.
For more information on the PUD, visit www.clallampud.net.
