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SSD proposes service study |
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Tuesday, 08 December 2009 |
By WILLIAM LANEY
Managing Editor
In the midst of making improvements to the city’s electrical system, Wapakoneta Safety-Service Director Bill Rains says the time is now for a cost of service study to be conducted on behalf of city electric consumers.
Rains said he recently met with Mayor Rodney Metz, Electric Department Superintendent Bill Lambert and a number of executives from large industrial users to discuss the effect improvements may have on charges, since a portion of an electric bill is devoted to operations and management.
“We have been approa-ched by several large industrial users and we also want to do this for the residents and that is to re-evaluate what we charge,” Rains told the Wapakoneta Daily News after Monday’s Wapakoneta City Council meeting.
“We are rebuilding the electric system, so we are replacing wire, we are replacing poles and transformers and we are replacing substations,” he said, and once we get that done, we should not have to replace the more expensive parts of the system for 20 or 30 years. Therefore we need to look at consumers’ electric bills because the efficiency of the system should be upgraded and should have a positive effect on consumers’ bills. In order to be fair to all consumers, we need to do this and adjust our billing accordingly.”
Rains explained the city is spending approximately $13 million to upgrade the electric system including replacing wiring and transformers as well as the city’s four electric substations.
The issue is likely to be reviewed by members of the Utility Committee, which is to be chaired by Councilor-at-large Steve Walter in the next term starting Jan. 1. He takes over the chair from outgoing 2nd Ward Councilor Dave Campbell, who is retiring from council.
Utility Committee members also are to consider improvements to the water, wastewater and storm sewer systems.
Metz said while a firm would have to be contracted with to perform the electric power service study that city personnel could conduct a study regarding water and wastewater rates.
“We have found in the past that we could do those studies in-house,” Metz said. “Once the water study is completed then the wastewater study is easy since it is based on water usage.”
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Last Updated ( Wednesday, 09 December 2009 )
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