Lafayette's City and Parish councils will meet in regular session on Tuesday.
On the agenda for introduction is an ordinance that would increase electric rates for customers of the Lafayette Utilities System. The increase would be phased in over several years, starting in November.
The rate increases, which you can read for yourself by scrolling down to see the ordinance, are the result of several years of research, planning and public meetings. After looking at the current Bonin power plant, the belief is that the best way to provide for future power needs is to build a new one, the supporting memo states.
"Another step in the planning phase of the power plant project included the financial impacts," the memo states.
A cost of service study was done to figure out how future electric generation should be financed, and the result was a multi-year plan that included revenue stability requirements, forecasted growth in customers and electric consumption. All that research resulted in an average retail increase of about 6.4 percent.
The phase-in will happen over three years, starting in November 2024. It will affect all LUS retail rates. For residential customers, the average monthly increase is projected to be $2 to $3 per month each year. In other words, the average monthly bill for this November is $191, with that number increasing in November 2025 to $193, to $196 in 2026 and finally to $199 in 2027.
Also on the agenda is an ordinance that, if introduced and finally adopted, would start the process of the construction of a library for the north section of the parish. The ordinance on Tuesday's agenda would end years of delay on the project, authorizing Mayor President Monique Boulet to move forward to buy property selected by the Library Board to finally build the Northeast Regional Library.
The property, on Shadow Bluff Drive, will cost $339,000 and the funds will come from the $8 million allocated to build the library.
Also on the agenda are ordinances that would launch streetscape projects for the Congress Street and 12th Street corridors, an ordinance that would restructure the personnel in the Mayor-President's Office and an ordinance authorizing the donation of a surplus motorcycle to the City of Youngsville.
If you want to read the agendas or see the ordinances for yourself, go here, and select the February 20 meeting date. You'll see the agendas and links to the ordinances.
Here's the LUS rate ordinance:
