EDITOR’S NOTE: This corrects a story that was published in the Clallam County edition only on Sunday about rate increases planned for Clallam County Public Utility District customers.
PORT ANGELES — Clallam County Public Utility District customers will see an increase in residential base rates and usage rates for their utilities in February.
A story published on Page A13 Sunday in the Clallam County edition did not include the usage rates and contained an error in the current residential base water rate.
Residential water customers will see a weighted average annual increase of 4.2 percent. For most systems, the basic charge is $43.91 instead of the $23.91 reported.
Residential customers can expect this to increase in 2022 to $45.74, with the water usage rate going from $3.94 per hundred cubic feet to $4.10 in 2022.
“While nobody likes an increase, our goal has always been to manage it in a stable fashion,” said Nicole Hartman, communications manager for Clallam PUD.
Base rates for residential wastewater will be increased from $67.49 to $73.68 for three out of the county’s four systems, with one of the systems decreasing; the average increase will be 5.9 percent.
“We have different water systems, and we are moving towards a uniform rate. That will be accomplished in 2024,” said Sean Worthington, Clallam PUD finance director.
In addition to an increase in the electrical basic charge from $39.55 to $40.50 in 2022, customers will see a 2.23 percent increase in usage rates from $0.076 per kilowatt-hour to $0.078 per kilowatt-hour.
“When we talk about rate increases, that (usage) is the one to look at,” Hartman said.
“We still have some of the lowest rates in the state,” Hartman said.
Clallam County PUD commissioners adopted on Nov. 8 the final electric, water and wastewater fund rates for the utility’s 2022 budget, which includes rate increases across the board, with some rates having been adopted earlier in the year as well as in 2020.
In December, PUD commissioners established and adopted a rate schedule for 2020-2024, increasing water and wastewater rates by 4.3 percent.
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Reporter Ken Park can be reached at kpark@peninsuladaily news.com.
