The Clark Public Utilities commission voted last week to approve annual budgets for the electric, generating and water systems. Electric and water rate increases are not currently required to fund the approved budgets.
The combined operating budget for the electric and generating systems for 2020 is $360.67 million, compared to $366.27 million in 2019. Power supply remains the large majority of the budget at $230 million – down from $232.7 million in 2019 budget – and the Operating and Maintenance budget is $58 million. The remainder is comprised of taxes, debt service, rate-funded capital and funding for energy efficiency programs.
Commissioners also approved $20.2 million for the 2020 water system budget, compared to $21.3 million in 2019.
“A former colleague of mine used to say you can tell a lot about an organization by their budget, and staff has done a meticulous job of capturing the direction of the board in a pragmatic and disciplined way in this year’s forecast,” said Nancy Barnes, president of the Clark Public Utilities Board of Commissioners.
Capital budgets for both the electric and water systems allocate funds for system maintenance and improvements. For the electric and generating systems, projects planned for the combined $55.96 million capital investment include ongoing treatment and replacement of aging underground cable; substation, transmission and distribution line construction and upgrades; and road improvement projects. The $8.18 million capital budget for the water system allocates funds for main extensions and upgrades and completion of the Paradise Point well field treatment plant.
“This budget not only absorbs higher power supply costs from the Bonneville Power Administration without the requirement of a rate increase for our customers, but continues to reflect our priorities of energy conservation, support of our limited-income communities and the ongoing proactive maintenance and improvement of our systems,” Barnes said.
