Starting in April, Ketchikan residents’ electric utility rate will increase 12.5%. The Ketchikan City Council approved the rate hike to the city-owned utility during their meeting Jan. 16.
The council had advanced the change during their last meeting, following an extended debate. Ketchikan Public Utilities Electric Division is facing a $5 million deficit and has been operating at a loss for more than a decade. The city manager has said that while this increase won’t solve all the utility’s problems, it will help prevent rolling blackouts and suspended services.
Council member Riley Gass asked the council to consider a smaller rate hike, saying that families are already struggling to pay their bills.
“There’s a certain percentage of our community that this increase could serve as a breaking point for, people who are just barely getting by,” Gass said. “There’s eventually going to be a straw in the camel’s back.”
Outgoing Electric Division manager Jeremy Bynum has repeatedly expressed to the council that rates have been kept artificially low, to the detriment of the utility’s infrastructure and personnel. He said the city still has one of the cheapest electric rates in the state, even after this increase and the 6.2% hike last year.
The vote passed 4-3, with members Jai Mahtani, Mark Flora, and Riley Gass voting no.
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