College Park power director proposes another residential rate adjustment, adds veteran discount

Power Department Director Hugh Richardson told the College Park mayor and city council at a workshop that he recommends another adjustment to residential electric rates — a 4.4% change that would follow several reductions enacted since 2023 and contribute to an average monthly savings of about $33 per customer across those actions.

"This is our fourth year and our fourth year for recommendation of a change," Richardson said, reviewing the department’s multi-year rate plan and noting that College Park’s published 1,000 kWh residential comparisons place the city near the lower end of Georgia utilities on both summer and winter surveys. "At for the summer we're ranked 89th out of 94... On the winter we're ranked 92nd," he said, and added the city is 18% below the state average in summer and 23% below average in winter on the survey measures he displayed.

Richardson also proposed a new veteran rate. Under his plan, veterans under age 65 would receive the same pricing as the senior rate (about a $21 monthly saving), while veterans 65 and older would receive an additional half-cent per kilowatt-hour reduction; he estimated that component would amount to roughly a 5.43% benefit for the older-veteran subgroup. He said the city would require applicants to provide an honorable-discharge document (Department of Defense Form 214), be a College Park resident and have the utility account in their name, and that the new rates would begin with July billing if council approves.

Richardson framed the recommendation in regional context, showing an average monthly residential cost for College Park of about $114 compared with state and neighboring averages. He also walked the council through recent reductions: a 7.7% summer reduction in July 2023, a roughly 6.1% year-round reduction in 2024 and an 8.1% cut last July, before the proposed 4.4% change.

Councilmembers asked technical and customer-service questions. Councilmember Carn asked which consumption column best represents local usage; Richardson said 1,000 kWh is closest to the city’s average and that the PSC survey comparisons were appropriate. When a councilmember raised the prospect of an individual unexpectedly large bill, Richardson explained weather-driven auxiliary heat on some heat-pump systems can spike usage and said the department will check accounts and diagnostics at no cost if residents contact them.

No formal motion or vote was recorded at the workshop. Richardson said he would update Public Service Commission survey numbers for the record once the council acts on the recommendation.