Residential electric bills to decrease $10.00 per month on average

                              

(KANSAS CITY, Ks.)   The Kansas City Board of Public Utilities (BPU) has announced that the fuel and energy recovery charge for the 2010 summer period (May to October) is being adjusted downward by 27 percent from last summer’s ERC. This decrease when applied to the average BPU residential customer’s electric usage (1150 kWh/usage) will mean a savings of approximately $10.00 per month during this period compared to last summer’s ERC period.

 

The charge, known as the Energy Rate Component, or ERC, represents the utility’s cost of fuel used to generate electricity and the cost of power that must be purchased on the open market.  The ERC changes every six months and is based on the actual fuel and purchased power costs that BPU pays. These costs are then incorporated into BPU customers’ electric bills. The charge is listed as a rider on your bill, separate from electric base rates.

 

There is a Summer ERC, which runs from May through October, and a Winter ERC, which runs from November to April each year. The current Winter ERC, which was adjusted in November 2009, is 0.02613. The newly adjusted Summer ERC will be 0.02248, a reduction of 0.00365 or 14 percent over the current ERC.

 

As a part of the total electric bill, the ERC is the most variable portion of the bill and often goes up and down with the price of energy and purchase power. 

 

“We are pleased that we’ve been able to reduce the 2010 Summer ERC utility rate for our customers,” stated Don Gray, General Manager of BPU.  “As a result of this adjustment, the average BPU residential customer’s electric bill should be reduced by approximately $10.00 per month during this summer period compared to last summer.”

 

 

 

 

About BPU
BPU’s water department was originally created in 1909, and its electric utility was operational in 1912. The purpose of the utility, then and to this day, is to provide the highest quality electric and water services at the lowest possible cost. Today the publicly owned utility serves approximately 65,000 electric and 51,000 water customers, primarily in Wyandotte County, Kansas. The mission of the utility and its employees is “to focus on the needs of our customers, to improve the quality of life in our community while promoting safe, reliable and sustainable utilities.” BPU’s Web site is www.bpu.com.