City rescinds current year’s electric rate increases

After being informed of an ordinance adopted in 1999, the city of Amherst will rescind its electric rate increases in order to develop a more modern ordinance and make further adjustments to the city’s electric rates.

“The city (will) err on the side of caution on this,” said Amherst Mayor Mark Costilow during a Nov. 19 City Council meeting. “We are gonna roll back that utility rate increase to its original form back in April.”

Costilow said the city plans to credit any additional charges due to the electric rate increases around January.

According to a press release from the mayor’s office, the ordinance states the city’s safety service director can increase utility rates without Council approval only if the electric department has less than $350,000 in its accounts.

An increase in rates beyond five percent cannot be adopted without being approved by Council first.

“The ordinance does not address the need to increase or decrease rates for other reasons beyond the department account dropping below $350,000,” the release says.

“This is such an old ordinance that we would lose our department if we had to wait until under $350,000 were in the account,” said city law director Anthony Pecora.

Costilow said that although customers will no longer see rate increases in the city for the foreseeable future, they are not gone for good.

“Let this be a reminder that this utility rate increase is needed,” said Costilow, adding that more gradual increases may be more appropriate. “We aren’t gonna make the utility increase go away, we’re just doing it a little differently.”