The board of the Central Lincoln People’s Utility District on Wednesday approved a 5 percent increase in its residential rates beginning July 1.
Rate increases the past three years have been 3 percent. Customers will see the increase on their August bills, said customer and community services director Eric Chambers.
Central Lincoln supplies electricity to much of four coastal counties from Lincoln Beach in the north to North Bend in the south. It has 35,940 residential, 5,415 commercial and 206 industrial customers.
Chambers said CLPUD is impacted by 9 percent increases in wholesale power rates and proposed 20 percent transmission rate increases from the Bonneville Power Administration, its electricity provider
For purposes of comparison, Chambers said, most of CLPUD’s “peer utilities” which also get power through the BPA are raising rates from 5 percent to 11 percent in July.
On Wednesday the board also interviewed and appointed former general manager Randy Grove of Toledo to its board. Grove was CLPUD’s director of engineering and operations before serving as its general manager from 2019 to 2021.
Grove will replace Alma Baxter of Toledo, who moved out of the CLPUD’s central board zone.
