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Ely residents and business owners will soon be paying significantly more for water, sewer and electricity.
The average residential customer would pay about $12 a month more for utilities, following a rate increase approved Tuesday night by the Ely City Council.
Member voted 6-0, with Angela Campbell absent, to authorize a rate increase sought by the Ely Utilities Commission.
The bulk of the increase comes in the water utility, with the EUC set to enact a $6.25 monthly increase in the fixed fee and another 15 cents per 100 cubic feet hike for usage. That adjustment would add another 80 cents per month for the average residential account, according to estimates provided at a public hearing called to discuss the rate proposal.
Also approved was a $1 per month increase in the sewer fixed fee and 15 cents per 100 cubic feet for usage, as well as a 50 cent hike in the monthly electric base fee and another $.0035 cents per kilowatt hour.
Add it all up and the average residential customer will see a monthly rate increase of $11.83.
Rates were not increased in 2023 or 2024 and only water and sewer went up at a fixed rate of $1.50 per month - in 2022.
Council member Al Forsman, who serves as the group’s liaison to the EUC, endorsed the proposal.
“I want to commend the rates committee within the utilities commission,” said Forsman. “These guys spend a lot of time and it’s never easy to raise rates. Nobody wants to put that burden our residents and customers.”
Forsman added that he believed the increases were justified to “maintain the infrastructure that provides these services to every home.”
“These aren’t taken lightly and I can assure you these were well thought out,” said Forsman. “And I do support their conclusions.”
During the public hearing, EUC member Rob Wilmunen outlined the increases sought in each area, most notably the water utility.
Wilmunen said the larger increase in the water utility was required in order for the city to qualify for public facilities loan funds for utility projects.
“They look at our rates,” said Wilmunen. “They have a calculation of where they think our rates should be that they would even consider (granting loan funds). The $6.25 increase in the base will get us to the lowest threshold where we would be eligible for low-interest loans.”
New debt service related to the wastewater treatment plant called for what Wilmunen termed a “moderate increase” in the sewer rates, with the first hike in three years.
The EUC has a wide range of electricity customers, ranking from residential to different areas of commercial including those with high demand.
The average residential customer will see a $2.95 increase in monthly rates, thanks to the fixed fee and usage hikes, while high demand customers are set at a $33 per month rate in their fixed fee, which will be partially offset by a reduction in demand and usage charges.
Smaller commercial customers are set to see an average increase of 3.4 percent or $2.95 a month.
