Lodi Council OKs utility credit for all customers

In a special meeting on Wednesday, the Lodi City Council voted 4-0 to approve credits for all Lodi Electric Utility customers as relief during the novel coronavirus pandemic.

The credit was proposed by Jeff Berkheimer, the utility’s director, and his staff.

During the meeting, held via

Zoom, Berkheimer proposed using money from Lodi Electric’s public benefits and greenhouse gas free allowance funds to offer credits to customers based on their rates. The credit is, at this time, a onetime action to provide some relief to Lodi residents.

“One of the things we really tried to do was make sure that we weren’t spending down our reserves beyond a fiscally responsible level but this is a way that we really feel we can support the community, both the individual ratepayers and our business owners,” Berkheimer said.

The credits would include $55 for residential customers, $105 for small commercial customers, $235 for city, $1,945 for medium commercial, $11,235 for small industrial, $15,240 for medium industrial, $22,555 or $36,150 for large industrial customers, depending on whether they are on the G5 or I1 tiers.

The credits were sized based on the average monthly bill for each tier.

Total cost of the proposal is expected to be approximately $3 million, with funding coming from the public benefits and greenhouse gas free allowance funds.

That includes about 23,000 residential customers, 3,000 small and medium commercial customers, and a “handful” of industrial customers -- less than 50, said Melissa Price, the utility’s rates and resources manager.

Lodi Electric is also evaluating whether there is a need for an additional credit or discount for low-income customers, Berkheimer said.

However, low-income customers are eligible for and will continue to receive a 30% discount that was already available to them, Price said.

Councilman Mark Chandler questioned how Lodi Electric’s proposal compared to the city’s partners in the Northern California Power Agency.

According to Berkheimer:

• Healdsburg is assisting just lowincome customers for April, May and June.

• Redding has given a $50 credit to all customers; the city is considering an additional credit for all customers.

• Roseville is looking at a onetime residential relief credit to customers with documented need based on COVID-19 impact.

• Silicon Valley Power offered a $30 residential credit and was looking at an additional discount for customers affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I like this program,” Councilman Alan Nakanishi said. “I’ll support this.”

The other members of the council echoed Nakanishi, with Chandler calling the plan brilliant.

Councilwoman JoAnne Mounce did have one question.

“If we did not spend the money on this, what would we have spent it on?” she asked.

Berkheimer stressed that funding the credit should not take away from any already planned projects. One possibility the utility had considered for late May or early June was increasing the energy efficiency rebate maximums per project for some commercial customers. Once the Lodi Electric Utility has finalized the costs of the COVID-19 credit, that will likely still be on the table, though it may be delayed, he said.

“The Electric Utility has been really financially responsible, and we aren’t really having to cut any definitive programs right now,” he said.

Customers should see the onetime credit and an explanation on their May bill.