In a split decision of 5-2, members of the Elizabethton City Council approved a mandatory rate increase on electricity implemented by the Tennessee Valley Authority.
Mayor Curt Alexander and Councilmen Wes Frazier, Samuel Shipley, Jeffrey Treadway and Richard Tester voted to approve TVA’s retail rate increase of 1.76 percent while Councilman Robert Cable and Mayor Pro-Tem William “Bill” Carter opposed it.
This will go into effect Thursday, Oct. 1.
TVA will have a wholesale rate change of 0.552 percent and a wholesale rate adjustment of 1.49 percent, resulting in the Elizabethton Electric Department retail rate increase of 1.76 percent. Customers will see this increase on their electric bills, but it will not affect the fuel cost component or the environmental adder.
Despite the rate hike, local revenue for the Elizabethton Electric Department will not increase, as the additional cost will flow through to the TVA to pay for electricity. If the council did not approve the increase for local customers, it would have cost EED approximately $988,000 in order to cover the rate hike.
In other news, the city has been working with Tipton Construction Company’s to make crucial improvements replacing water lines as part of the Eastside Water Loss Project Phase One. The Council authorized the final contract price of $444,141.25, down from $451,979, saving the City $7,837.75 on installed items.
Tipton completed the project, but 133 days past the projected deadline due to the addition of 850 feet of six-inch water line along Walker Street and 3,100 feet of six-inch line on Riverview Road to the project.
The delyaed completion incurred an additional cost of $41,500 owed by the city to McGill Associates for its construction administration and inspection services. The funds to compensate them will come from three sources: $7,837.75 from savings on installed items, $6,968 from project contingency funds and $26,694.25 from Liquidated Damages assessed to the contractor to make the city whole. The Council approved this payment.