Customers of Benton Utilities will see the following rise in bills over the next three years

Benton, Arkansas – Customers may notice an increase in their utility rates in just a few short months.

After the power provider deemed the increases necessary for operation, the city council approved them last week.

The company now has a new general manager who will be in charge of the modifications.

This month, Todd Pedersen assumed the post. He examined the data and informed us of the extent of the business’s losses.

“We were seeing six-figure losses every month,” said Pedersen.

The company’s purchasing expenditures increased dramatically, but there are also some modifications that must be made in order to maintain code compliance.

“The water treatment plant is doing some major projects to get the facility back up to operating as it should,” said Pedersen.

Given this, a rate rise that was passed on to the customers was unavoidable.

The city council and utility commission finally agreed to raise the rates over a three-year period after months of arguing about how much to do so.

A typical client currently pays $157 for their combined electric, water, and sewer bills.

That invoice will increase by about $15 later this year, bringing the total to $172.

And that’s not all. The price would rise by an additional $15 the next year, to roughly $188.

Customers will finally pay a total of around $200 in 2025.

“We are not breaking even for this year. We are actually going to be in the red with the capital projects we have planned,” said Pedersen. “Then, we are barely going to be breaking even next year. Then, in 2025 we will be making a little bit of a profit.”

Starting on May 1st, customers will start receiving the new, higher bill.

There will be an extra fee for the use of electricity, water, and sewage on your statement if you reside outside of the city borders and use Benton utilities.