Public Services Commission members voted Monday night to approve a drop in electric levelized energy adjustment clause rates and a slight increase in the water LEAC.
According to the vote, the electric LEAC will go down from the current 40.05-cents per kilowatt hour to approximately .38 cents, which will bring the average residential customer’s bill from $209.63 to $205.51. The average commercial customer will see their bill drop from $663.86 to $650.89, while large power consumers will see their bills decrease by more than $200, from $12,734.36 to $12,464.87.
Board members also approved a slight increase in the water LEAC, from the current $9.12 per thousand gallons to $9.25. According to the V.I. Water and Power Authority, the increase is about
.31 cents.
The rates are in effect beginning Wednesday.
While dealing with WAPA Monday, PSC board members also questioned the utility’s need to continue applying the rate financing mechanism (RFM) to customers monthly bills. The RFM was initially applied in May 2012 and added to the LEAC to help fund improvements in WAPA’s efficiency.
Years of deferred maintenance have led to WAPA’s power plants performing below optimum levels, which causes them to burn more fuel, the said. Money raised through the charge was to be used on equipment repairs and for the temporary lease of a more efficient mobile generator on St. Thomas.
Georgetown Consulting Group, the PSC’s advisors on WAPA matters, has estimated that $16 million has been raised through the charge, but that the efficiency improvements promised by WAPA when the charge was approved have not been realized. They have continued to question how the money has been used and, on Monday, some PSC board members also followed suit.
Board member Andrew Rutnik asked about delays in the hiring a contractor for the generator and in completing WAPA’s ongoing propane conversion project.
WAPA Executive Director Hugo Hodge Jr. said any delays experienced were “genuine.”
Board members aked that the utility show, by the end of October, what is being done to decrease LEAC rates.
