Hundreds showed up at First United Methodist Church concerned about the potential hike in that fixed fee portion on your electric bill.
The group, Omaha Together One Community set up the event, talking with Omaha Public Power District's CEO Tim Burke.
People on fixed income had a chance to give OPPD their opinions.
The electric company has proposed increasing the service charge on your bill from 10.25 a month to 35 by the year 2019.
Some people wanted OPPD to look at other alternatives to this proposal, like installing smart meters to better account for your usages. Others wanted the winter and summer rates to change. Overall the feeling in the room was to mix the proposed increase in the fixed rates.
Many people called for the OPPD board to delay their decision by at least 3 months, Burke says it's up to the board to make that decision. OTOC is urging OPPD to allow for more time to look at these alternatives or hear more from the public.
Here’s the breakdown of how the combined service charge increase/usage charge decrease would affect bills as of Jan. 1, 2019:
Low Usage = Bills of less than $80/month
***would see an increase
Medium Usage = Bills of between $80 to $125/month
*** would see little to no change
High usage = Bills of more than $125
***would see a decrease
The OPPD board will meet next Tuesday to discuss the options, then the board is expected to have the final vote on this Thursday, December 17th.
If you want to submit your comments, go here: http://www.oppdlistens.com/
