Water rates going up
Cleveland Public Utilities officials presented City Council members with the results of their water and Water Pollution Control rate studies. The results project rate increases for residents.
Catherine Troy, chief financial officer for the Department of Public Utilities, said the goals of the Division of Water study included developing a five-year plan for the division. The study also looked at how to fund that plan through water rates that “recover the full cost of providing water service” while also being allocated equitably.
She estimated that rates would increase less than $9 a year for the average customer.
Troy said that a rate study for Water Pollution Control had the same findings. She reminded council members that the Cleveland Divisions of Water and Water Pollution Control are run with enterprise funds, so they are almost entirely paid for through customer rates and fees. She said that annual rate increases for the Division of Water would be necessary to maintain the division’s operations, its reserve funds, its ability to pay off debts, and its ability to pay for capital expenses.
Troy said that Water Pollution Control is “significantly behind” on replacing sewer pipes, which are supposed to last 100 years. She said the division plans to ramp up capital spending for that work.
A presentation from the meeting shows that some of those pipes date as far back as the ‘70s. The 1870s.
Electric rates stay low
After some initial delays, the committee advanced legislation that would renew the city’s aggregation contract with the Sustainable Ohio Public Energy Council (SOPEC) to keep electric prices low. Full council passed the legislation at its May 6 meeting.
Director of Public Utilities Martin Keane told members of City Council’s Utilities Committee that the legislation will only impact FirstEnergy customers. He said that without the contract, customers would pay 11.08 cents per kilowatt hour. With the contract renewal in place, customers would only pay 6.302 cents per kilowatt hour.
Keane said the lower rate is a fixed rate. This means that customers will pay the fixed rate no matter how energy prices may fluctuate. Keane said they expect energy rates to be higher than the fixed rate more often than not. According to him, the deal with SOPEC will save residents more than $200 per year.
The contract allows the City of Cleveland to essentially buy its power in bulk via community choice aggregation. This allows the city to receive discounted rates because it’s buying power on behalf of all residents. Keane said that residents will receive in the mail a notice asking them if they would like to opt out of the aggregation program.
Although Cleveland Public Power (CPP) customers are not impacted by the contract, Council Member Brian Kazy said that there are plans to discuss CPP’s rates in the fall.
CPP staying at North Collinwood location
Council members also approved a $250,000 annual lease renewal on an East Side CPP facility at its May 6 meeting. Kazy said during the Utilities Committee meeting that council members’ questions from a previous meeting were answered when they toured the building.
The lease is set for five years, with the possibility of renewing for another five. Keane said that the city is looking into finding a new building in the future or building an entirely new facility.
Need help with your water and sewer bills? Check out this Signal Cleveland explainer for resources that can help.
Read the notes from Documenter Alfreda Williams:
Read the live-tweet thread from Documenter Alicia Moreland:
Suggested Reading
Where to find rental assistance, eviction and other housing-related help in Greater Cleveland
Here are some resources for pandemic and other rental assistance programs and other housing-related help. This includes free legal help with eviction.