On Nov. 12, the Seattle City Council passed a 13.8 percent City Light rate increase for the next two years that will go into effect in 2010.

The increase closes a $140 million gap between City Light revenues and spending plan.

City Light has relied heavily on selling its excess power, but the unpredictability and volatility of the current market has resulted in City Light burning through cash reserves that will be depleted by mid-2010 without a reasonable rate increase.

Due to the slumping economy and decreased demand, City Light will fall well below revenue projections from selling surplus energy.

“This rate increase will help maintain City Light’s financial stability while protecting our strong bond ratings,” said Councilmember Jean Godden. “We’ve worked hard over the past eight years to put City Light on a solid financial footing – now is not the time to reverse that course. It’s a question of paying a few dollars now or a whole lot more later.”

The package passed by Council includes $1 million in energy efficiency investments that the Mayor’s proposal did not include. The Mayor's proposal included an 8.8 percent rate increase.

“Seattle City Light ratepayers were able to enjoy decreases over the past few years because of the reserves built from selling excess power, but the environment today is completely different,”Councilmember Richard Conlin said. “It’s now time that we do what’s right to ensure that Seattle’s power remain clean and affordable well into the future.”