Meeting scheduled on power rate increase

A public meeting to discuss the Cost of Service Study and Rate Design by the Lincoln County Power District No.1 for 2013-17, is scheduled for Sept. 24, at 6 p.m. at the Lincoln County Courthouse, regarding the new proposed rate increases.

The decision was made at the regular LC Power District Board meeting Sept. 9.

General Manager Dave Luttrell said, ?We have been working on a Cost of Service Study since April and have discussed it a number of times in our meetings since then as to where we are at from an operating perspective.?

At the public meeting, he said, the staff will present to the public what the proposed rates are and why, review the operating results, and receive formal public comment.

Luttrell said, ?At this point there are no rate changes, the board has not adopted any rates.?

He said the last time base rate energy charges were increased was in Oct. 2007, although a main line rate adder was put in place in 2012.

?What we are doing in this rate study,? Luttrell explained, ?is increasing revenues to the power district of 15.1 percent. That does not mean an individual?s rate is going up 15.1 percent, it means we are proposing to increase revenues to the district by that rate.?

Only one public meeting is planned, he said, ?but if there are issues that may come up from the meeting that we feel we may need to have other meetings, we can.?

In other business, Luttrell said Penoyer Valley Power voted Sept. 7 to turn their system over to Lincoln County Power. He said action will be taken on the offer at the Oct. 14 regular LCPD meeting.