Pasadena Council Backs Electric Rate Hike

The Pasadena City Council has tentatively approved an 11.5% increase in residential electricity rates to pay off its municipal utility’s debt, but it shied away from an even stiffer hike in preparation for 2002, when customers will be able to choose where to buy power.

After more than four hours of often-heated debate, the council on Monday abandoned plans that would have raised rates even higher--by nearly 30% over the next five years.

Instead, in a 5-2 vote council members approved only the immediate 11.5% increase. But they included a clause allowing them to raise the rate annually for the next four years. The 11.5% increase, which still must be formally approved, could go into effect as soon as the end of November.

“This was a big step,” said Councilman Paul Little, who called the rate increase a necessity to pay off the city-owned utility’s $156-million debt.

Nonetheless, Councilwoman Ann-Marie Villicana, who opposed the increase, questioned why her colleagues were ignoring more than 1,000 letters she received from residents opposing any increase. “We are not listening to the public right now,” she said. Councilman William Paparian also opposed the measure.

In 2002, Pasadena’s Water and Power Department will lose its monopoly on providing power to the city’s 134,000 residents. The department must cut its debt before then in order to remain competitive with other power companies expected to woo customers in Pasadena, officials said.