Bwl customers face higher utility rates starting Thursday

Lansing Board of Water & Light customers will pay more for electric, water, and steam service beginning Thursday under a new rate plan approved by the utility’s Board of Commissioners on Aug. 11. Residential electric rates will rise 2.1%, adding about $2.16 a month to the average customer’s bill, while water rates will increase between 2.39% and 3.34%, adding 88 cents to $1.15 a month depending on usage. Steam rates, which mostly affect commercial customers, will increase 5.51%.

Bwl Chief Financial Officer Scott Taylor said the increases are driven by rising costs across the utility’s operations and that the new spending will focus on infrastructure and cybersecurity. The plan will fund new electric substations, replace aging water mains—Bwl maintains about 800 miles of water main—and invest in cybersecurity upgrades. The utility has secured nearly $15 million in grant funding over the past two years and cut $7 million from its operating budget, efforts intended to reduce costs passed on to customers.

Customers can save by using the first two CCFs of discounted water and shifting electric use to off‑peak hours. Bwl offers payment assistance for households that are struggling, including the Low‑Income Energy Assistance Fund and its Community Resource Fairs, which have provided more than $8 million over the last five years. The next Community Resource Fair is Oct. 21 from 3‑6 p.m. at the Gier Community Center, 2400 Hall St., Lansing.

Read the full story at wilx.com.