Huntsville City Council to vote soon on electricity rate increase

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. ( WHNT ) — An estimated 200,000 people in Huntsville could soon be paying for their electricity services, but city leaders will have to give it their vote of approval in a few weeks.

At Thursday’s city council meeting, Huntsville Utilities CEO Wes Kelley gave several reasons as to why a 5.3% electric rate increase is needed.

Kelley, pointing to a 30 to 40% spike in the cost of construction and materials over the last 4 years says the average customer could see about a $5 to $7 increase on their monthly bills if approved.

It was 2018 when the utility last requested an electric payment increase that was implemented over a 5 year period. If passed, Kelley tells News 19 they do not expect to ask for another increase for at least another next 5 years.

Kelley says the revenue gained from the measure would address several projects including older infrastructure that contribute to periodic power outages across the city.

“We know that we have infrastructure improvements that are critical to this community, and this provides the funds necessary to invest in that infrastructure,” Kelley said. “We feel the weight of responsibility that we’re digging deeper into our neighbors wallets to help pay for this rate increase. It’s something we don’t take lightly. We do this after we have pushed all other options and this is where we are.”

With council approval, Huntsville Utilities will implement the changes in two different increments meaning the 5.3% rate increase would occur over a 10 month period with the first coming in January.

A full breakdown of how the potential changes could impact your household can be found here .

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