LOGAN – At their regular meeting on Aug. 1, the members of the Logan Municipal Council unanimously approved Resolution 23-29, increasing electrical rates for all city residents.
Those increased rates will take effect with the next power bills sent out by Logan City Light & Power.
“Over the last year-a-half to two years,” according to Mark Montgomery, the director of Logan City Light & Power, “we should have been implementing electrical surcharges to cope with the shortfall between what we budgeted for power and the actual price we paid.
“During 2021 to 2022, we funded that shortfall with our financial reserves. But, beginning with fiscal year 2022 to 2023, we finally had to impose those surcharges.”
The council’s approval of Resolution 23-29 will now make rate increases permanent for residential, commercial and industrial customers by adjusting electrical rates according to the actual cost of service and other factors.
The vote came after a public hearing in which only Logan resident Dr. Gail Yost spoke, questioning whether financial assistance was available for city customers on fixed- or low-incomes.
Under the new Logan City Light & Power rate schedule, the service charge for residential customers will increase from $5 to $6.50 per month.
The rates for electrical power will increase from 9 cents per kilowatt hour to 11 cents for the first 400 kilowatts delivered. For the next 600 kilowatts, the rate will increase from 10.5 cents to 12.5 cents. For all additional power delivered over 1000 kilowatts, the rate will increase from 11.7 cents to 13.7 cents.
Montgomery said that the city also plans to implement a series of 2 percent annual electrical rate increases over the next few years. The goal of those increases, according to David Berg of David Berg Consulting, will be to rebuild the city’s financial reserves by $20 million by 2027.
Prior to the imposition of electrical surcharges last year, the average residential power bill in Logan for a small home using only 400 kilowatts of power was about $41, Montgomery explained.
If a home used 1,000 kilowatts, its monthly bill average about $104 in the pre-surcharge era while a home using 2,000 kilowatts paid about $209. Under the electrical surcharges, comparable bills averaged $52.81 for 400 kilowatts, $133.53 for 1,000 kilowatts and $280.16 for 2,000 kilowatts.
Under the newly approved rate schedule, Logan residents will see their monthly bills increase to $54.31 for 400 kilowatts, $135.03 for 1,000 kilowatts and $281.66 for 2,000 kilowatts.
Montgomery said that the new power rates are in-line with other communities throughout Utah. For example, he cited electrical rate in Brigham City for the first 400 kilowatts as $59.26 and in Morgan as $55.42.
City residents are advised to consult the current Logan City Light & Power fee schedule for current pricing pertaining to fees, service charges and re-read fees.