First Electric Cooperative Corp. of Jacksonville asked the Arkansas Public Service Commission on Monday for a 2.38 percent rate increase.
If approved by the commission, the rate increase will go into effect for bills on May 1 and after.
For a residential customer with a $100 monthly electric bill, the new rate would be $102.38, said Tonya Sexton, spokesman for First Electric.
"The reason we're filing for an increase is that sales have been flat," Sexton said. "We attribute some of that to energy efficiency. But at the same time, our expenses to deliver that power have increased."
Michael Searcy, an Oklahoma City consultant testifying on behalf of First Electric, said in Monday's filing with the commission that, with the rate change, the cooperative will continue to be able to "satisfy lender requirements, retire capital credits, maintain adequate cash levels and maintain a satisfactory equity level."
First Electric has more than 90,000 customers in portions of 17 counties -- Pulaski, Arkansas, Cleburne, Conway, Faulkner, Garland, Grant, Independence, Jefferson, Lonoke, Monroe, Perry, Prairie, Saline, Stone, White and Yell. It is the second-largest electric cooperative in Arkansas.
The filing was made under a state law that allows electric cooperatives to increase their rates once a year for as much as 10 percent, said John Bethel, executive director of the commission's general staff.
First Electric's request allows for a streamlined process without a full hearing before the commission, Bethel said.
The general staff will review the filing and make its recommendations within 90 days, Bethel said.
First Electric's customers have an opportunity to review the filing and object if they choose, Bethel said. If 10 percent of First Electric's customers object within 60 days of the filing, they can request the commission to impose regular rate case procedures with a hearing, Bethel said.
First Electric's request for a 2.38 percent increase for residential customers isn't large compared with other electric companies' requests for rate increases, Bethel said.
First Electric's most recent rate adjustment came in 2011, when it was granted a residential rate decrease of 0.76 percent, Sexton said.
Business on 01/31/2017