Electric rates to rise 10% for Sidney residents

Electricity rates for the city of Sidney are increasing by 10 percent after an ordinance was passed Tuesday night by city council.

According to Public Services Director John Hehnke, the rate increase is necessary due to new regulations passed down through the state and federal governments and additional costs associated with generating facilities that had not been anticipated nor budgeted for.

“Each year with the new federal regulations that come down for cross-state air contaminants and everything like that,” he said, “each one of those things continues to add on to the cost of generation and producing power.”

For residential customers, the previous rate was $0.1069 per kilowatt hour for the first 600 kilowatt hours used. The updated rate is $0.1176 per kilowatt hour for the first 600 hours.

“The rate increase is mainly just to pass on the rate increases to us from both of our power suppliers,” Hehnke said.

The new rates become effective Oct. 1.