Spencer Municipal Utilities (SMU) Board of Trustees has approved a water and electric rate increase effective June 1, 2013.
The increases, which were approved at the board’s April meeting, are designed to pay for costs of repairs and maintenance needed on the water and electric systems. “We want to keep our infrastructure maintained and continue to provide quality services for future generations and the approved increases will help with that,” says Amanda Gloyd, marketing & community relations manager.
SMU recently announced plans to upgrade the water treatment facility and that a rate increase would be coming. Customers will begin seeing the monthly water customer charge increase to $15.00 a month per service address beginning with June 1 consumption. Along with the additional customer charge fee, the water usage rate will increase to $3.50 per 1,000 gallons no matter how many gallons are used. Customers who have outside water that is metered separately will see the rate increase to $4.50 per 1,000 gallons also beginning on the July statement.
Customers will also begin seeing an increase to electric rates beginning with June 1 consumption. The meter charge for residential electric customers will increase to $11.25 a month while the usage for the first 800 kWh’s for residential customers will increase to $0.567 and over 800 kWh’s for residential customers will increase to $0.045 per kWh. Commercial electric customers will see a 5% increase.
“To put the approved increases into perspective, the average water customer in Spencer will notice about a 19 cents per day increase and electric customers will notice about a 13.5 cents per day increase,” says Gloyd.
SMU strives to keep rates affordable for the citizens of Spencer. The last time water rates were increased in Spencer was fall of 2012 and the last time electric rates increased in Spencer was spring of 2011.
“All of these rates will take effect on June 1 consumption so the first bill customers will see the increases will be at the end of June,” says Gloyd.
Spencer Municipal Utilities is a leading provider of cable, Internet, telephone and cellular service through i wireless in the Spencer community and has been providing water since 1886 and electric services since 1901.
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