Folks in the McKenzie River area will see changes on their electric bills soon, as both Lane Electric Cooperative and the Eugene Water & Electric Board (EWEB) prepare to raise rates over the coming months.
Lane Electric will raise its electricity rate by 7% beginning December 1, although some critics say the increase is closer to 12%. The change follows a major cost hike from the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA), which supplies a large share of the region’s power. BPA raised its own rates October 1 – 19.9% for transmission and 8.8% for generation.
“With more than a third of our electricity coming from BPA, this increase was unavoidable,” the co-op said in a release. Lane Electric is also simplifying its rate structure by eliminating seasonal pricing and dropping extra charges for customers using more than 1,500 kilowatt-hours a month…