The Regulatory Commission of Alaska will deliver its decision on Alaska Electric Light & Power’s requested permanent rate increase on Friday.
Commission Section Manager Ann Wilde said they hope to do so by 5 p.m. but have until a midnight deadline to announce the decision.
AEL&P is requesting a 24 percent permanent increase in its energy components over originals rates. Customers have been on a 20 percent interim increase until this decision.
This 20 percent affects the energy portion of customers’ bills, thus raising the actual bills about 18.5 percent. This interim charge also increases AEL&P revenues by 18.5 percent.
The 24 percent request would raise average customer bills and AEL&P revenues by 22.1 percent beyond the rate the utility received prior to the interim increase. AEL&P states if the request is approved, the average residential electric bill would go up around $16 per month.
Princess Cruise Lines and Greens Creek Mine are not included in the rate case because they are under special contracts.
AEL&P spokeswoman Debbie Ferreira said the utility management isn’t sure what to expect and is now just waiting for the announcement.
Bill Burk of the Juneau People’s Power Project, which argued against the increase in the RCA hearings, said he doesn’t think the increase will be for the full 24 percent requested. He said that his talks with the attorney general’s office indicate it may only be about 13 or 14 percent. Still, he said there’s no real way to know until Friday.
“Everyone’s either curious or worried about it, even at AEL&P,” he said.
• Contact reporter Jonathan Grass at 523-2276 or at jonathan.grass@juneauempire.com.
Comments (7)
Add commentIn the words of Barbara Bush
In the words of Barbara Bush "Just say NO"
Finite resource
I'm no fan of paying higher electric bills, but if the rate is too low people will flock to electric heat with the next oil price spike. It happens every time, and we know it'll happen again.
AELP has very limited capacity, even with Lake Dorothy coming online. This year especially they're way below average snow pack. If they are forced to augment their output with diesel generators, we'll all pay a major fuel surcharge.
If AELP can't raise rates to discourage the switch to electric heat, what will do it?
KP:
After reading what this administration is about to do to electric plants in the lower 48 the price we might be paying in the future may not be too bad compared to those down south.
Just think of all those lost jobs.
http://visiontoamerica.org/3387/obama-policies-about-to-shut-down-coal-p...
I have heard the heating
I have heard the heating switch argument from Brad Fluetsch and others as well, and I don't understand it. I'm under the impression that most households in Juneau only have one heat source, whether it be fuel, electric, or other. How are people just going to switch over in droves without the city or AEL&P being able to anticipate it?
Plugging in an electric
Plugging in an electric heater, available at Home Depot for $100
Is it really an issue that
Is it really an issue that Snettisham and the other hydro plants can't keep up with demand, though? During the summer they seem to be able to power all those cruise ships as well as the city, and I doubt that they're just barely scraping by.
It would be helpful if AEL&P had on their website a meter showing current capacity and how much of it is currently being used.
It...
AEL&P sees plenty of profits. If you know any shareholders, just ask them outright. They do just fine. I'd buy in but unfortunately, not just anyone can buy stock in AEL&P.
It's not a demand issue. The population hasn't gone up and yet they want to charge more. It's still raining, the water is still flowing... Sure, midwinter power production gets a little thin, but no more than it has in the past. In fact, since there aren't more people in Juneau and yet more people are becoming energy conscious switching light bulbs, etc, I wonder exactly how mure power the average household uses compared with what they used here in Juneau in the late '80's. It certainly doesn't help when we're not allowed to use wood stoves when it's freezing out. Lake Dorothy was supposed to lower electric prices, remember those promises. Nobody ever said, "Lake Dorothy will increase electric rates but will make our ability to supply power redundant."
And what about these special contracts? I'd certainly like to know what they are paying. If we are funding expansion to Lake Dorothy and there is a limited supply of power, I'd sure like to know what the average amount per kilowatt hour Greens Creek and Princess are paying.