Utility bills are poised to go up

GLENDALE — Rapidly rising fuel costs will translate into higher utility bills for residents starting Tuesday, Glendale Water & Power officials announced Wednesday.

Residential customers can expect to see their average bills, which come twice a month, increase by 6.8%, or $9.15, as the city’s utility continues to struggle with the increased cost to generate power and deliver services, General Manager Glenn Steiger said.

“It’s unfortunate,” he said. “Really, if there was any way we could keep it down, we would.”

The increase comes at a time when record high gasoline prices are already putting pressure on household budgets.

“Nine dollars isn’t a whole lot, but I’m already paying like twice what I used to for gas, and school supplies are more expensive, and now I’m thinking, ‘What now?’” resident Rachel Martinez said Wednesday as she loaded a few bags of groceries into her Nissan Altima at a Vons in south Glendale.

“Pretty soon I’m just going to have to cut stuff out,” she added.

Just as drivers have had to cope with gas prices that on Thursday hit $4.59 a gallon for regular unleaded, utilities have dealt with rising costs of fuel to power generators, transport water and deliver services.

Fuel costs have outstripped forecasts by 6% in recent months, Steiger said.

The original $20.4-million fuel cost estimate for Glendale Water & Power for July through September has been revised to $25.4 million, he added.

“We are completely subject to outside forces,” Steiger said. “We are running more and more lean all the time.”

The cost spike for fuel to generate and deliver electricity to Glendale is the main driver for the rate increase to customers, according to city reports.

Of the average $9.15 bill increase to residents, $7.17 of it is derived from a Fuel Adjustment Charge, which is adjusted administratively every six months to reflect the cost of fuel for the utility.

Most of the power generated in and for Glendale is fueled by natural gas, but the utility has been working to diversify its power supply among a host of less volatile sources, such as wind, hydroelectric and coal, Steiger said.

The utility, through recent power agreements approved by the City Council, is on track to have 20% of its power portfolio made up of renewable energy sources by 2017, according to city reports.

Just $1.98 of the average bill increase to customers will be attributed to the water side, Steiger said.

The water rate increase was made, in part, to blunt the anticipated impact of a 19% premium on water imports from Metropolitan Water District of Southern California that will go into effect in 2009, he said.

A controversial three-year base water rate increase that the City Council approved in December will not take effect until Jan. 1. That hike is expected to add at least 6% to the overall water bill.

With summer months expected to bring on increased electricity use, city officials again encouraged residents to conserve in order to cut down on household energy and water costs.

For more information on the rate increases, or for tips on how to conserve water and energy, visit www.glendale waterandpower.com.

 JASON WELLS covers City Hall. He may be reached at (818) 637-3235 or by e-mail at jason.wells@latimes.com.