For More Information Contact:
Lance Robertson, 984-4716 or 954-7509 (cell)
Eugene Water & Electric Board

The Eugene Water & Electric Board's elected commissioners have made $9 million in budget reductions, avoiding an electric rate increase this summer.

Commissioners on Tuesday night decided not to raise rates by 6 percent in June, relying instead on budget cuts and one-time savings to keep electric rates steady for at least another six months.

However, commissioners said a rate increase is highly likely in November if the Bonneville Power Administration increases the cost of wholesale electricity it sells in the Northwest by at least 15 percent, as previously announced. Bonneville supplies EWEB with about two-thirds of the power it needs to light and heat 80,000 homes, businesses and schools in Eugene.

Commissioners agreed on a package of budget reductions that include $4 million in program cuts and another $5 million in one-time savings to help balance EWEB's 2003 budget. The $9 million in reductions offset BPA-related power cost increases imposed by the federal agency over the past year but which have not been passed on to EWEB customers in the form of higher rates.

The budget cuts include freezing wages and salaries, reducing the work force by 6 to 10 positions, cutting funding for conservation and low-income assistance programs, reducing tree-trimming services and reducing the hours EWEB's headquarters building is open to the public.

One-time savings include such things as selling surplus property and refinancing some bonds to get a lower interest rate.

Also on Tuesday, EWEB commissioners decided to leave intact the current "tiered" rate structure, in which the rate per kilowatt-hour increases as monthly consumption rises. The board had considered a proposal for a "flat" rate, in which customers would pay the same per-kilowatt-hour rate for all consumption.

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