Rate hike on Jan. 1 for Liberty Utilities customers

It’s going to cost Liberty Utilities customers more to keep the lights on and heat their homes and offices starting Jan. 1.

Average residential and small commercial customers will see an increase of less than 1 percent, while average medium and large commercial customers will see increases of approximately 16 percent and 17 percent, respectively.

An average residential monthly use is 602 kWh, average small commercial is 1,843 kWh, average medium commercial is 22,391 kWh, and average large commercial is 196,726 kWh.

The rate adjustment are the result of two major projects:

• Luning solar project is a 50 MW solar installation located in Mineral County in Nevada. Once it is put into service in first quarter of 2017, it will supply about 25 percent of Liberty customers’ energy needs.
• The first phase of the 650 electric line upgrade was completed this fall. It consists primarily of upgrading and replacing an aging power line between Truckee and Kings Beach to improve reliability. 

Other system improvements were made in Alpine and Mono counties, as well as the Portola area.

Liberty’s annual investment of $2.5 million in vegetation management also contributed to the overall rate increase. Projects include trimming trees and branches around structures to reduce outage and fire-related risks. 

For more information about the rate increases, go online.