By JAN LARSON McLAUGHLIN
BG Independent News
Bowling Green electric customers will get a boost in their bills the rest of this year.
Over-collected electric charges will be reimbursed to city customers – to the tune of $2,325,049 from last year, the city’s Board of Public Utilities heard Monday evening.
“The money has got to go back to the customers,” said Brian O’Connell, director of utilities for the city of Bowling Green.
The city adopted an accounting standard in 2009 that allows deferral of unrecovered power supply costs that otherwise would have caused a default of the city’s bond agreement. The city often over-collects to ensure that it has enough to cover its bond payments. If there is money left over, it then goes back to local residents.
“At the end of the year, we have to account for our power supply costs,” O’Connell said.
About 10 percent of the $2,325,049 will be refunded each of the 10 months of March through December.
After Monday’s meeting, O’Connell said the over-collected amount was actually running higher, but decreased when power costs were lowered and kilowatt hours dropped.
A story will follow later this week on the water and wastewater projects approved by the board of public utilities for this year.
