Naperville considering electric, water rate increases
If the Naperville City Council approves a rate hike at its next meeting, residents will see a spike in their utility bills in each of the next three years.
Mayor Steve Chirico and the council members got their first look on Tuesday at a proposed increase in electric, water and sewer rates that city officials say is needed to keep up with infrastructure costs.
If the rate increase is approved at the Nov. 2 city council meeting, starting in January residents would see an overall boost in their utility bill of 2% to 3% every year from 2022 to 2024.
For the average homeowner currently paying a monthly fee of $188.55 for electric, water and sewer service, the rate hike would add $4 to $5 on their monthly bill each of the next three years. The increase is smaller in 2022 because the electric rate increase wouldn't take effect until 2023.
A marketing plan would accompany the rate hike to help residents understand the increase and work on conservation efforts to minimize the financial impact.
"These increases will fund additional capital expenditures to ensure that our utilities provide reliable service for years to come," said Brian Groth, director of the city's electric utility.
The increases - 1% in 2023 and 2024 to residents' electric rate and 4.7% from 2022 to 2024 to residents' water and sewer rate - would allow the city to invest an additional $1 million a year in infrastructure projects, officials said That would bring annual capital spending to about $15 million a year through 2024.
Additional money generated by the electric rate hike would be used to upgrade a substation along the Reagan Tollway. The water and sewer rate increase would help pay for an additional three miles of water main replacements a year and for an upgrade to the Springbrook Water Reclamation Center.
Some council members questioned the scale of the plans, suggesting the goal for water main replacement could be trimmed to one mile a year to reduce the cost to residents.
They also wondered if an adjustment could be made to fixed charges so low-usage residents would pay less than high-usage residents.
Darrell Blenniss, the city's director of the water utility, said Naperville still would offer competitive rates compared to what several nearby communities offer.
"Even with the recommended increases, our residential customers will still pay less than those in Downers Grove, Lombard, Plainfield, unincorporated DuPage County, Woodridge, Glen Ellyn, Wheaton, Winfield and Elmhurst," Blenniss said.