At the board meeting on Tuesday night, the Board of Trustees voted to lower Frederick Power & Light’s residential kilowatts per hour (kWh) rate from $0.11064/kWh to $0.106/kWh effective May 1, 2015. The base rate will remain at $14.40 as that fee covers the fixed cost of street lighting and maintenance of the electric system. This decrease means the average residential Frederick Power & Light household will save $90 annually, making Frederick Power & Light’s rate less expensive than competitors in the area, including CO-OPs and investor-owned utilities.
“We’ve saved money with our new operations and maintenance provider, and will be saving money with a new more efficient way of meter reading so we want to pass those savings onto our residents,” said Kent Van Dyne, Frederick Power & Light Utility Manager. “We are also working on a rebate program to promote energy efficiency that will result in even more savings to the customers who choose to participate.”
The Board of Trustees also voted last night to increase water rates for the Town of Frederick in order to meet the current and future needs of the Town’s water system effective May 1, 2015. The base rate, which covers costs including the fixed costs of maintaining the system, the fee we pay to Central Weld County Water District for providing water as well as the first 3,000 gallons of water used, will increase from $25.80 to $30.65. In addition, the cost of water used will increase anywhere from $0.48 to $1.20 per each additional 1,000 gallons, depending on how much water the customer uses. The less water the customer uses, the smaller the increase. For example, the total bill of an average use of 4,000 gallons will be $32.73 ($30.65 base rate + $2.08 per additional 1,000 gallons), a $5.33 total increase. In addition, a 5% increase was approved for the per 1,000 gallon usage rate each year until 2020. This increase will cover variable costs including line extensions, new services and new water projects such as the Northern Integrated Supply Project (NISP), which are necessary for Frederick’s future water supply. This increase will not affect any Frederick residents living west of I-25 as water is provided to those households by Left Hand Water District. Even with this increase, Frederick is well within the average water rates for the area, as many providers have already enacted increases in order to account for the continuously rising costs of water in Colorado.
“The strong demand for limited water supplies has dramatically driven increases in the cost of water which leads to the need for water rate increases,” said Dick Leffler, Frederick’s Director of Engineering and resident water expert. “Frederick, like many water providers in the region, is faced with securing a dependable water supply that will serve the Town during extended droughts, prepare us to respond to potential impacts of climate change, and meet growing demands in the future.”