Jamestown BPU Board meeting on November 21, 2022
The Jamestown Board of Public Utilities passed a 3% water rate increase for 2023 at its meeting Monday.
While the water division has an increase, the wastewater division rate is staying the same. The rate will be effective January 1, 2023.
The board also heard a presentation on the proposed 2023 Electric Budget.
General Manager Dave Leathers said the budget presents no surprises with the division stable and under control, “Obviously, with supply chain issues, lead time issues, inflationary issues, I mean, there’s costs expense creep. We had not had a rate increase since March of 2016 and so that’s quite a ways. So, we’re looking for the future here, so we’re looking more toward the end of 2023 and ’24 if there’s a need for a rate case, so I’d say that’s one item we talked a bit about.”
In order to increase the rate, the BPU has to make a request to the New York State Public Service Commission. Leathers said that process can take 12 months.
Leathers said the board is looking at what’s coming from the state under the Climate Leadership and Community Protection act in the coming years. In terms of capital projects in the near future related to that legislation, Leathers said 2023 and 2024 will be more engineering studies and preparatory work.
Also, video livestreaming, which was supposed to start this month, had to be postponed until the BPU’s meeting on December 19 due to the absence of the staff member who is to run the streaming program.
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