Politics & Government

GOP Candidates Want to Cut Residential Electric Rates 10%

John Hoover and Carmen Pico say they support a rate reduction once lower wholesale rates kick in.

GOP candidates for Madison Borough Council John Hoover and Carmen Pico issued the following news release saying they would support lowering electric rates for residents by 10 percent once lower wholesale rates kick in.

Candidates Hoover and Pico believe that in these economically challenging times, residential ratepayers should be given a 10% rate reduction as soon as the lower wholesale rates kick in, and promise to support an ordinance to make that happen if elected.

The past two years the Madison Borough Council has been approving wholesale electricity purchases for 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017 that will drop the rates that the Borough of Madison pays to buy electricity by 40 – 45%.  This forward thinking plan reverses the problems caused by two ill-timed electricity contracts that saw Madison’s residential electric rates increase 65% since 2004.

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Over the first two years of the new wholesale rates, Madison’s electric utility should realize at least $4,000,000 of additional savings annually.  These savings can be used by council in a variety of ways, including lowering electric rates.  A 10% residential rate reduction would utilize about a quarter of the total.  The balance should be used for the serious capital improvements that have been identified in the borough’s long-range capital plan.

Hoover and Pico both noted that, “The community needs relief from the high electric rates that were approved by councils from 2005 – 09 to cover the higher cost of electricity.  Today, many people tell us that their electric bills are higher than the borough’s portion of their property taxes, and the cost of electricity isn’t tax deductible.”

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