On Friday, March 12, the KPP held a special board meeting at which it decided to access its Emergency Stabilization Fund (ESF) in order to cover the extraordinary costs upfront, thereby lessening/delaying the financial impact upon its member cities.
The KPP Board of Directors also approved collecting a storm surcharge of .01 per kWh over the next three months, and then to review how much to collect monthly thereafter. The purpose of the storm surcharge is to rebuild the KPP's ESF, a process which may go on for twenty-four to thirty months.
Keep in mind that bills will be larger due to the increased cost of the power, as well as to the increased consumption of energy. Part of the city's wholesale power bill is based upon the kWh's consumed. The other part is based upon the city's largest need (Demand) for electricity during a given period. The chart below shows four examples.
Month |
Energy (kWh) |
Demand (kW) |
Total Bill $ |
October 2020 |
1,443,556 |
3,838 |
$98,104 |
December 2020 |
1,550,461 |
3,320 |
$100,016 |
January 2021 |
1,604,273 |
3,423 |
$98,284 |
February 2021 |
1,628,134 |
4,150 |
$146,629 |