Troy to raise electricity rates

The Troy city council held its monthly meeting Wednesday, Aug. 19, at 7 p.m. with a few members of the city in attendance. The main topic of discussion was the proposal to raise the electrical rates.

“It’s been eight years since we raised the rates,” Darren Coldwell, the Mayor of Troy, said. “At this point now we are running in the red.”

Coldwell said it was a difficult decision to make, but one that needed to happen.

“At some point we had to make the leap,” he said. “We all pay our bills to the city of Troy. Every council member and myself are in the same exact situation as the public. It was not an easy decision to make.”

The new electrical rates will go into effect September 21.

“What we did is increase the rates a half a cent per kilowatt,” Coldwell said. “We didn’t mess with the water or sewer, this is strictly power. It’s a 10 percent increase. If you are paying $100 now, you will be paying $110 with the new rates.”

Coldwell said it was a decision made to keep Troy Power and Light running.

“It wasn’t an easy decision for any of us,” he said. “Either we get out of the power business or we make an adjustment. This is the least amount we could introduce to the public and make it worth while to continue to operate Troy power.”

Coldwell said he appreciated the people of Troy showing up for the meeting.

“I appreciate everybody that came to the meeting,” he said. “We didn’t want to hide anything from the public. We had to do something after all these years. We tried to do the least amount possible.”