After input from staff and a public hearing on January 27th, the LMUD Board of Directors has announced that the utility’s facilities charge will be raised $4.00 per meter for residential customers beginning February 1st.
“The facilities charge is intended to cover the district’s fixed cost and ongoing expenses necessary to provide electric service to our customers,” explains Energy Services Manager Theresa Phillips. “These are expenses that the district has to pay regardless of the amount of electricity that is sold.”
LMUD staff conducted an analysis of the utility’s monthly operating expenses and found that the facilities charge was under collected.
“That analysis indicated that current conditions and future forecasts would merit an increase in the facilities charge,” said Phillips. “The current residential monthly facilities charge is $10.00 per meter – the actual cost was estimated to be $38.75 – however, staff recommended that the charge only be increased by $5.00 across all rate classes.”
After much discussion among the board and staff, the board voted unanimously to raise the rate by $4.00. The change for all customers took effect on February 1st, and for LMUD’s residential customers, this change means that the current monthly facilities charge of $10.00 will now be $14.00.
Phillips explained that in order for LMUD to deliver safe and reliable electric service to its customers, poles, wires, equipment, trucks, labor, billing systems, etc., must all be in place and in working order.
“These are the true costs of doing business,” Phillips explains. “Some of the different elements captured in the facilities charge include, substations and their components, labor and the cost for system maintenance and repairs, fleet maintenance, tree trimming, poles, wires and supplies, meters and meter reading.”
Visit LMUD’s website at www.lmud.org and click on the news link for more information on the changes made to the facilities charge and how they will affect your bill.
