Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Utilities Rates topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
NPUA and Needles approve 2.8% COLA, raising average household water and wastewater bills about $5
Summary
NPUA staff recommended a 2.8% cost-of-living adjustment to water and wastewater rates and removal of a 0.01 power-cost adjustment; council approved the package, which staff said increases a typical single-family household bill by about $5.01 per month.
Needles — In a joint meeting with the Needles Public Utilities Authority, the council on Sept. 10 approved a 2.8% cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) affecting water and wastewater rates and a related adjustment to electric billing, NPUA staff said.
NPUA staff explained the COLA is tied to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics consumer-price index (June value) and that they apply the lower of CPI or actual expense increase. Staff said the proposed changes would raise a typical single-family water bill by $3.83 and wastewater by $1.44, for a net monthly impact of about $5.01 under the presentation's usage assumptions. The staff presentation also recommended removing a 0.01 power-cost adjustment (PCA) that had been applied to rebuild a negative balance; staff reported the PCA fund moved from negative $1.4 million in August 2023 to positive $622,000 as of July 2024.
For electric customers, staff proposed a modest per-kilowatt-hour reduction in the non-power component (presented as a small cents-per-kWh change) while noting about 47% of the proposed rate would cover power-purchase costs and roughly 16% would be renewable-power offsets. Staff said recent infrastructure investments of more than $16 million in the water system were included in planning and would not directly increase rates beyond the COLA calculation.
After a public-hearing opportunity with no speakers, the council called for a motion and approved the rate adjustments by roll-call vote; Council Members Campbell, McCorkle, Barrett, Mayor Jernigan, Poe, Bell and Longbrake were recorded voting in favor.
What happens next: NPUA staff will implement the COLA and associated rate changes effective Oct. 1 (staff noted COLA application date) and will return to the board with any required implementation details and customer notices.
