In 2011, Tacoma Power's electric rates increased an average of 5.8 percent. These rates will stay in effect through approximately March 31, 2012.

We strive to keep our rates as low as possible, but rate increases were necessary to meet our rising costs of serving our customers, which include:

• Implementing the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission hydroelectric plant licensing requirements
• Returning to a policy of issuing bonds to fund 50 percent of our renewal and replacement capital projects, and funding the remaining 50 percent from rates
• Higher Bonneville Power Administration costs
• Costs to accommodate growth, new technology-based services, and security requirements.

Puget Sound Energy and Snohomish Co. PUD bills include an effective 6% tax levied by a city or town for comparison purposes only.

• The energy use reflects the costs associated with buying or generating electricity.
• The delivery rate reflects the cost of equipment (poles, lines, transformers, etc.) associated with delivering electricity from its source to your home or business.
• The customer charge includes costs for meter reading and billing.

You can track how much electricity you use at home at home by reading your meter.

If you have a dial meter, from left to right, record the smaller of the two numbers on either side of the pointer. The sample shown here has a reading of 8542.

If you have a digital meter, just note the numbers you see.

If your meter has four dials, multiply the meter reading by 10. (If your meter has five dials, multiply by one.) That number is the amount of kilowatt hours you’ve used.

To determine how much electricity you’ve used in a week, subtract your previous meter reading from the present one.

Billing questions
For information about your electric use, call our Energy Conservation Center at (253) 502-8377 or email power@cityoftacoma.org. For more information about your utility bill, call (253) 502-8600.