No April Fools! Snohomish County PUD electric power rates will rise starting April 1st.
Currently, most PUD residential electric power customers pay a customer charge of 35 cents per day and 10.29 cents per kilowatt-hour. Starting April 1st, the rate will go up to 59 cents per day and the kilowatt-hour rate will remain relatively the same. It is estimated the typical PUD residential customer will see a rise in their bill of about $6 per month.
Current PUD residential electric power customers pay 9.6 cents per kilowatt-hour. Starting April 1st, the rate will go up to 10.3 cents per kilowatt-hour. It is estimated the typical PUD residential customer will see a rise in their bill of about $6 per month.
For PUD small business customers, the rate increase will only impact their ‘customer charge’, producing a monthly increase of close to $10 per month.
The PUD Commissioners approved of the rate increase at the recent meeting on March 5th in response to several cost increases.
- The sub-freezing weather in the first half of January drove electricity market prices higher than expected, climbing 800 percent over budget during that cold period.
- Costs for critical equipment like transformers, poles and wire, and labor have risen.
- Overall prices in the electricity market have climbed.
- The additional revenue will permit the PUD to continue to make critical investments in infrastructure and technology to increase reliability, meet ever-growing customer power use, and improve customer experience.
For those struggling to pay their PUD power bill, there are several resources to help customers. These programs include monthly budget plans, payment arrangements and extensions, as well as income-qualified assistance programs that offer up to 50 percent deductions for qualifying customers.
For more information about Snohomish County PUD rates, visit the PUD’s rates webpage.
