After five years with no rate adjustment, the Lincoln Electric System Administrative Board has proposed a budget that includes a 4.8% systemwide increase to 2023 retail electric rates
The rate adjustment primarily is due to budgeted increases in power and transmission costs which are the costs to generate and deliver electricity to customers. LES says they have limited ability to influence these costs.
An LES residential customer using 1,000 kilowatt-hours per month on average will see an increase of approximately $5 on their monthly bill if the rate increase is adopted. Other rate classes would see increases varying from 3.9% to 6.1% based on the cost to serve each customer class.
While net power costs are up $3.5 million and transmission costs are up $9.6 million, reductions in other operating expenses helped reduce the overall rate adjustment. “In addition to power and transmission cost increases, similar to other Lincoln businesses, LES is experiencing inflationary and supply chain pressures,” said Emily Koenig, LES vice president of Financial Services & chief financial officer. “While cost reductions were included in the proposed budget, it is necessary to implement a rate increase to fund overall increased costs.”
She says it’s a priority of LES to keep costs low for customers. “The 2023 rate increase will position LES to continue delivering safe, reliable and affordable electric service while keeping the average residential customer’s daily cost less than $3 per day.”