David Kyto Electric Quotations

We know that customers are tiring of these electric rate increases. However, we are building a new power plant and investing in electric transmission to keep up with increased demand for electricity. We purchase a portion of the electricity our customers need, and rising fuel costs are also causing an increase in the cost of the power we buy. These investments and purchases are needed to ensure reliability. Simply put, our business is more costly to operate than it was in the past.

Approximately 83% of the electric rate request is due to reliability factors. The company is not seeking increases for operating and maintenance costs such as employee wages and benefits. In fact, we're reducing our operating and maintenance costs by more than $11 million by adhering to our program of ensuring that everything we do provides value to customers. The program is working -- higher rates notwithstanding.