Albany utility customers may see slight increase this summer

ALBANY — Utility customers can expect a slight increase in their bills starting July 1 if a proposed rate increase recommended by the Albany Utility Board is approved by the Albany City Commission.

The increase would amount to roughly $3.49 a month and would go toward lessening operating debt in the solid waste, stormwater and water departments. Electric and gas rates would not increase under the proposal.

“Our desire is to pass a budget that does not back down from our plan to remain aggressive, but we want to moderate our rates to what is reasonable and what is affordable for our customers,” City Manager Sharon Subadan told the Utility Board. “Our plan is not to shy away from maintenance of our infrastructure, and we feel we can achieve our goals without an increase in electric or gas rates.

“We do, however, propose slight increases in our stormwater, water and solid waste funds that will amount to roughly $3.49 a month for our residential customers.”

City Finance Director Derrick Brown said the increases would not allow the three funds to operate debt-free, but they would allow the city to operate each at a significantly lower loss.

“The CPI (Consumer Price Index) will increase 2 percent (for solid waste) for residential customers due to an increase in tipping fees imposed at the Dougherty County Landfill,” Brown said. “Cost for pickup would be $31.46 (under the proposal), an increase of 62 cents a month.

“The CPI shows an expected 3 percent increase for water, as our water treatment plant will need to operate at a higher rate of usage to maintain our EPD aquifer permit. The (proposed) increase would add $1.12 to customers’ bills each month.”

Assistant City Manager Phil Roberson pointed out that an increase of $1.75 per ERU (equivalent residential unit) in stormwater fees would allow staff to increase maintenance in infrastructure to comply with EPD Phase II Municipal Storm Sewer Separate System requirements.

“Prior to the creation of the city stormwater enterprise fund, there was no funding for separation of our sewer system,” Roberson said. “The fund allows us to stay in compliance with EPD mandates. We knew we would operate at a loss for the first couple of years as we set our stormwater fee at the lowest in the state. We need to hire seven additional people so that we can repair defects in our system, and this increase will allow us to do so.”

Subadan said the additional income does not necessarily mean the city will hire new employees.

“If it makes more sense to contract the work, we will,” she said. “We’re seeking the dollars needed to do the required work (through the increase), but we’re still going to look for the most effective use of those dollars.”

Board member the Rev. Gary Sanders said his study of the matter shows that the increases are necessary.

“Looking at this from a financial standpoint, we have to make these increases to keep up with increases that are being passed on to us,” Sanders said. “After talking with the financial folks, I believe the increases are reasonable.”

Also at the meeting, the board voted to recommend approval of Internet service upgrades ($118,200 a year), contracting with Labor Finders of Albany ($127,600 annually) for unskilled and semiskilled laborers, and with Electric Cities of Georgia for right-of-way clearance (estimated cost $500,000).

“There have been questions about looking for local contractors to do this work, but ECG (which utilizes Trees Unlimited of Rome) requires that its contractors be certified to work around high-energy power lines,” Assistant City Manager Stephen Collier said. “We’ve checked, and there are no local contractors who are certified to do the work. If there were, we would have bid the project out ourselves.”

ECG Assistant Director of Analytical Services Chau Nguyen talked with the board about rates for electricity and the impact green-energy elements like solar could have on the utility. He said a study by the collective showed that projections for Fiscal Year 2017 indicate that the city’s revenue should exceed expenditures ($103.95 million in revenue to $103.24 million in expenditures) in the coming fiscal year. The city’s expenditures are projected to surpass revenue by $930,000 in the current fiscal year.

Chau also said the city would be legally required to purchase up to 400 kilowatts of excess solar energy that customers could sell back to the grid if there were enough solar installations to reach the maximum output. The ECG official said that would equate to $132,567 in lost revenue.

One of Chau’s suggestions is to create a standby capacity charge for solar users.

“We don’t want to be anti-solar, but solar does not provide energy 24/7,” Subadan said. “We’re required to provide electricity on an as-needed basis if there is a cloudy day, at night or if the customer surpasses his equipment’s capacity. We have to look seriously at that tariff.”