MARSHALL – It looks like utility bills could be going down considerably in Marshall in the next three years, according to a rate study presented to the Marshall Municipal Utilities Commission on Wednesday. Electric costs for residential customers could go down 14 percent, the study said, and the main reason for the change would be MMU’s switch to a less costly power supplier.

MMU Commission members received draft rate studies for both local electric and water services. Rate studies are conducted every three years, and the studies are used to help set the utility rates paid by MMU customers. The draft studies presented Wednesday are for the years 2017 through 2019, and MMU commissioners will continue to discuss the studies over the next couple of months.

In a conference call with rate analyst Keith Wilkins, MMU commissioners went over both the electric and water service rate studies. Wilkins and MMU general manager Brad Roos said Marshall will see some significant changes in electrical costs, after MMU switched power suppliers in July. That’s when MMU’s contract with Heartland Consumers Power District expired, and Marshall started getting its electricity from a different wholesale supplier, Missouri River Energy Services.

The electric rate study anticipated that MRES would have substantially lower costs for MMU, Wilkins said. As a result, the rate study called for less revenue to be collected from both residential and commercial electric customers. Under the study’s proposal, costs for most of MMU’s residential customers would go down 14 percent starting in 2017, and 14.7 percent for most commercial customers. However, actual decreases for individual customers would depend on the kind of customer, and their level of consumption.

The water rate study, on the other hand, did propose revenue increases in the next three years, Wilkins said. Overall, costs to customers would increase about 6 percent starting in 2017, Roos said. But again, individual costs would vary depending on the type of customer and how much water they used.

As part of his regular report to commissioners, Roos gave an example of how the proposed rates would affect an average residential utility customer. A residential customer using 4,750 gallons of water and 848 kilowatt hours of electricity a month would see their water bill go up $2.35, and their electric bill go down $10.99. The overall change in their utility bill would be a decrease of about $103 per year, he said.

MMU commissioners won’t take action on the rate studies right away. Roos said discussion of the studies is planned to continue at the commission’s next regular meeting, and a public hearing will be held in November.

Even before new utility rates are set, MMU customers may start seeing their electric bills go down, Roos said Wednesday. MRES has seasonal electricity rates, to go along with times of greater demand. The three-month summer season has the highest rate. As we enter the fall season, the change in cost will be reflected in customers’ November bills, Roos said.