The Lewis County Public Utility District (PUD) continues to move forward on a rate schedule that will increase the average residential customer’s energy bill by about $8 a month beginning next year.
The plan, which could be adopted next month, comes as the PUD addresses rising operating costs, including higher staffing costs and a 10% rate increase from the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA).
“It’s unfortunate that we have a spike that we are dealing with,” PUD Commissioner Ed Rothlin said Tuesday. “A lot of it had to do with the 10% increase from Bonneville. We buy power, and try to buy the cheapest power that we can find.”
According to PUD General Manager David Plotz, power supply makes up about 60% of the PUD’s expenses. Plotz noted that the increased costs from BPA are not exclusive to Lewis County PUD, and that other utilities in the region are projecting similar increases.
“As those increase, we have to raise rates in order to keep pace and not fall behind,” Plotz said during a PUD commissioners meeting in Morton Tuesday.
Plotz said the PUD must also prepare for extreme events the PUD might face — whether it be a natural disaster or a wildfire — and have reserves to meet increased demand.
“We need to be prepared and have sufficient reserves to cover these extreme events,” Plotz said. “These reserves have been tapped in the past. That’s good, but we need to make sure we maintain a balance sufficient to cover these extreme events.”
According to Plotz, the PUD will also use rate money to fund maintenance and equipment improvements, as bond funds are not available.
“The majority of the increase of the budget falls in 2025,” Plotz said. “We’re trying to match the increases with the expected expenditures.”
Earlier this month, the PUD commissioners adopted a biennial budget for 2025 and 2026 that will likely include rate increases in both years; however, the timing for these increases has not been officially agreed on.
On Tuesday, Plotz recommended a plan to increase the PUD’s rates by 7.1% in 2025 and 1.25% in 2026. The commissioners plan to adopt a plan on Oct. 15. The new rate schedule will take effect on Jan. 1.
If adopted, the plan would mean an increase of $7.81 in 2025 and an additional $1.48 in 2026 for the average residential customer. For commercial users, the plan would mean an increase of $143.90 in 2025 and an additional $27.13 in 2026.
If adopted, the PUD’s rates would remain comparable to surrounding utility providers, including Centralia City Light.
The higher rates come after the commissioners opted to keep rates steady between 2023 and 2024. Now facing an increase in each of the next two years, some at the PUD’s Sept. 3 meeting said the commissioners should have gradually increased rates over time, rather than a steeper jump in a shorter period.
On Tuesday, Plotz said if the PUD adopted a smaller increase in 2025, it would have to adopt an even larger increase in 2026.
“We felt like if we pushed more into the second year, we’d have to add even more,” Plotz said.
Community-owned, the PUD provides infrastructure, power, and telecommunication services to roughly 35,000 customers in Lewis County and surrounding areas.
Lewis County PUD offers a variety of programs to assist customers with their bills including energy audits, rebates, a senior low-income program, a residential budget payment plan and commercial and industrial efficiency programs, among others.
