January storm cost Clark Public Utilities about $26 million

Clark Public Utilities’ efforts to keep electricity flowing during January’s storm — when temperatures plunged well below freezing for nearly a week — pushed spending for the month $30 million over budget.

The net cost of the storm, however, was about $26 million because the utility’s retail revenue also rose, according to utility spokesman Dameon Pesanti. Clark Public Utilities commissioners heard a financial report for January at their meeting March 5.

Several factors contributed to the cost of the storm.

Demand for electricity reached a new historic winter peak at 1,144 megawatts, about 200 megawatts more than budgeted. With more people across the region using electricity and gas to heat their homes during the cold snap, the market price for utilities skyrocketed.

“We had prices that were around $1,000 for three or four days in a row,” Steve Andersen, power manager at Clark Public Utilities, said at a recent presentation for local leaders. “Everybody spent a lot of money trying to cover the load.”

Such high prices hadn’t been seen during previous winter cold snaps, Andersen said.

Then, there was the storm itself, which brought down trees across the county, endangering power lines.

Pesanti said at the time the weather event was “extremely challenging” for the utility.

Nearly 400 people, including utility staff and contracted arborists, worked together to remove damage from fallen trees.

About 25,000 customers across the county lost power during the storm, but it was restored within a day for most.

The costly storm contributed to the dire financial situation facing the utility that led its commissioners to raise rates in January.

Commissioners raised rates 14.5 percent overall.