Columbus Water & Power customers will likely see higher bills in the new year.
If Columbus City Council approves the proposed rate changes, average water and sewer customers who use about 165 gallons of water per day will see an increase between $100 and $150 per year.
The exact jump depends on whether people are inside or outside the city, and if they qualify for low-income or senior discounts.
Average residential electric customers will see an $80 to $126 annual increase. Columbus Water & Power says that's about $7 to $11 each month.
Small commercial electric customers would face a 5% increase in charges, while large commercial customers would see a 16% increase.
Columbus Water & Power says they'll soon start on several large water and sewer projects, including a $1 billion lead pipe replacement project.
The city is also building a fourth water treatment facility, the Home Road Water Plant. Transmissions and mains for that project are expected to cost $2.3 billion.
Other city water and sewer projects include capacity upgrades and treatments at the three existing water treatment plants, replacing or rehabbing old water lines and continuing the Blueprint Columbus plan that aims to eliminate sanitary sewer overflows.
The city says those projects are necessary to prepare for expected growth in the region. The Mid-Ohio Planning Commission estimates that central Ohio may have as many as three million residents by 2050.
Meanwhile, the city says the cost of the wholesale power it buys has gone up — leaving the Division of Power with no choice but to raise electricity rates for its customers.
The Division of Power uses the rates paid by its roughly 19,000 residential and commercial customers to fund the maintenance of some 60,000 streetlights.
The department is in the middle of a project to upgrade all streetlights to LEDs. The city also plans to add new streetlights to currently unlit neighborhoods.
Columbus City Council is expected to first vote on the changes at their Nov. 17 meeting.
The city will hold a public meeting on the proposed rate increases before that, from 3:30 to 6:30 p.m. on Thursday at Columbus City Hall, which is located at 90 West Broad Street.
