Anaheim : Rates for Electricity to Be Reduced by 4.6%

Electric rates are about to go down in Orange County’s largest city.

Beginning Saturday, Anaheim residents will see a 4.6% reduction in their electric bills. That translates to a savings of $1.71 a month for the typical customer using 500 kilowatt hours monthly, Gordon W. Hoyt, public utilities manager, said.

City customers will now pay an average of $39.83 a month for 500 kilowatt hours, Hoyt said.

Local officials attributed the savings to the city’s continuous weaning away from the Southern California Edison Co. by purchasing wholesale power from other agencies.

The city has saved $1.6 million this year because of such energy purchases, Hoyt said. For example, Anaheim has an ownership interest in Units 2 and 3 of the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station and, as of earlier this summer, is receiving energy from the Utah-based coal-fueled power plant called Intermountain Power Project.

“Today, thanks to decisions by the City Council and community, we now buy less electricity from Edison, and, like a thrifty shopper, we buy more low-cost power from other utilities throughout the western United States,” Hoyt said.

City Manager William O. Talley said the new rates will mean that Anaheim residents will be paying about 7.5% less than residents in surrounding communities.