Customers of Benton PUD will be paying more for their electricity this spring if the utility’s first rate increase proposal in years is approved.
Benton PUD is seeking to raise its retail rate for electricity by 5% beginning April 1.
For the average residential customer, that would add about $6 to their monthly power bill, or about $72 a year.
Utility officials cited the rising costs of materials, labor and power supply as the reason to request the rate increase, with some expenses growing by 200% or more since rates were last increased.
“Through prudent financial planning, including strategically using excess cash reserves and issuing municipal bonds periodically to fund our capital programs, we have been able to operate for over five years without implementing a retail rate increase,” the utility said in a news release.
The release also noted that the average monthly power bill for those living in the Pacific Northwest is higher than for the average Benton PUD customer.
A customer information meeting related to the proposed rate increase will be at 5:30 p.m. Feb. 13 at the Benton PUD Auditorium, 2721 W. 10th Ave. in Kennewick.
Customers can also participate remotely via Microsoft Teams. For the remote meeting details, go to BentonPUD.org.
The utility’s proposal would increase its residential daily system charge from 63 cents per day to 66 cents per day, the demand charge is proposed to increase from $1 per kW to $1.05 per kW, and the residential kilowatt-hour (kWh) rate is proposed to increase from $0.0688 to $0.0722.
For non-residential customers, the proposed 5% increase will apply to all rate components including daily system charge, kilowatt-hour rate, and demand charge, where applicable.
And that may not be the last increase to power bills served by Benton PUD and other power providers.
The Bonneville Power Administration (BPA), which operates the hydroelectric dams on the Columbia River, is proposing a 9.8% rate increase for power generation and a 21% rate increase for transmission beginning October 2025 due to rising costs of materials and labor, as well as the need for critical maintenance and upgrades.
BPA will make its final decision later this summer regarding its rate increases.
BPA provides more than 50% of Benton PUD’s power.
Neighboring Franklin PUD says it expects that 85% to 90% of its power comes from hydroelectricity, comparable to Benton REA, which serves West Richland and eastern Benton County.