Nov. 24, 2008

Media contact: Chris Gleason, Community & Media Services manager, (253) 502-8222

The Tacoma Public Utility Board voted recently to return approximately $15 million to its Tacoma Power customers after receiving a refund from the Bonneville Power Administration for overpayment.

Tacoma Power will base the refund amounts on 2007 electrical use and will credit the money on current customers’ bills. The utility anticipates that the credit will start showing up on customers’ bills no earlier than February.

“Calculating customer usage and then putting the refunds in place, unfortunately, takes a lot of time,” said Tacoma Public Utilities Director Bill Gaines. “We will conduct this process as expediently as possible, but will need our customers to show patience while we work out the details.”

Although Tacoma Power has not yet calculated the amounts, it anticipates that most residential customers will receive a credit equal to just more than one-half of an average months’ electric bill.

“Refunding this money to our customers is the right thing to do – especially considering the current economy,” said Public Utility Board Chair Tom Hilyard. “Hopefully it will provide them at least a little relief.”