Clark Public Utilities customers will see a credit on their April bill after the utility board approved a $10 million credit from 2018 surplus funds.
Eligible customers will get a credit equal to about 27 percent of their average January and February power consumption, so the credit amount will vary depending on the customer.
As an example, a customer with a $300 January bill and a $100 February bill, an average of $200, would see a $54 credit.
Customers in the Guarantee of Service Plan, for lower-income homes, or the EqualPay program, which sets equal monthly bills, will see the credit applied to their account balances.
“It’s been a very long and cold winter so customer bills this month may be higher than is normal for spring,” Commissioner Nancy Barnes, utility board president, said in a news release. “We’re fortunate to be in a position to credit back surplus revenue to customers to help offset higher heating costs from the extended stretches of freezing temperatures. As a customer-owned utility, we’re giving customers back their share of the 2018 surplus.”
The utility gave its customers a similar $10 million credit on their June 2018 bill, and before in March 2017.
The utility makes the call on how to allocate any available surplus annually. A bill credit is one consideration, in addition to rate stabilization or capital investments, according to utility spokeswoman Erica Erland.
