How The Water Rate Increase Will Impact Your Pleasant Prairie Utility Bill
Charges on a Pleasant Prairie Utility Bill can include fees for: municipal water; sewer service; public fire protection; garbage services; and the clean water utility. Municipal water and public fire protection are the two portions of the Pleasant Prairie Utility Bill that will be impacted by the recent water rate increase (see the sample bill in the PDF below).
The estimated impact of the increase in water rates is expected to be 3% for Pleasant Prairie Water Utility customers (the Village is awaiting confirmation of this number from the Wisconsin Public Service Commission). This 3% increase will affect both the water- and public fire protection-related charges on your utility bill, because these charges are directly related to a customer's consumption of water and the storage of water for public fire protection.
The estimated impact on the overall utility bill will be even less than 3%. The anticipated impact of the increase on the entire amount of the bill is difficult to estimate, because each customer may not receive all of the services that could appear on a bill (some water customers do not receive sewer services, etc.).
On the sample bill shown in the PDF below, the estimated impact related to the 3% increase in water rates would be $1.07. This sample bill demonstrates a lower than average water charge. Actual increases on individual bills could be slightly more or slightly less.
The average water charge for Pleasant Prairie residential customers at the old rate was $38.86. At the new rate the average water charge will be $39.98, a difference of $1.12. The average Kenosha monthly bill for retail customers is expected to rise by $2.91.
Village staff will continue to work to keep the Pleasant Prairie Water Utility operating as efficiently as possible in order to help control costs for Utility customers. Customers of the Pleasant Prairie Water Utility can expect to first see the rate increase on their September utility bills.
UPDATE as of AUGUST 19, 2013
The Public Service Commission of Wisconsin has approved the rate increase referred to in the August issue of the Village Newsletter. The effective date of the rate adjustment will be August 1, 2013.
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