Wanting to stem years of subsidies from the electric utility, the Gresham Water Utility is seeking a 37 percent rate increase.
“We’ve been operating at loss for a long time, but with a labor force adjustment and the new rates, the water utility should be self-supporting again,” Village Administrator Art Bahr said.
The PSC staff will review the application and make a revenue recommendation the utility can adopt or contest at a public hearing to be scheduled in Gresham and Madison.
After the hearing, the PSC will act on the request probably by April, Bahr said.
If the requested rates are approved by the Wisconsin Public Service Commission, a typical residential customer paying $19.86 monthly in volume charges would pay $27.21 for the same amount of water.
Residential customers also pay a $10.07 monthly meter charge, which also is subject to adjustment by the PSC.
Without the new rates, the utility is projected to lose $12,649 next year after estimated revenues of $154,000 and estimated expenses of $166,649, which includes $22,921 in depreciation, according to the rate application filed last week with the Public Service Commission.
The utility’s operating expenses have decreased annually after peaking in 2010 at $152,891.
Expenses are projected to be $126,000, without depreciation, next year, according to the application.
A position that combined the functions of a waste water specialist and a lineman has been eliminated with a recent retirement.
Adjusting various duties has resulted in a 40 percent reduction in some labor costs, Bahr said.
Meanwhile, total operating revenue has been relatively stable at $156,083 in 2010 and an estimated $154,000 next year.
The utility’s last rate increase, a 40 percent hike in 2008, helped finance the first radon reduction treatment facility in the state, a $1.3 million project, Bahr said.
Funds to repaint the water tower were not included in the 2008 rate request, further pinching the utility’s finances, he said.
Most of the utility’s water mains and other infrastructure is nearly 60 years old, and funds will have to be set aside to replace them, Bahr said.
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