Starkville Utilities customers could see an increase in electricity bills

STARKVILLE, Miss. (WCBI) – Starkville Utilities customers could be paying more for electricity before the end of the year.

General Manager Edward Kemp brought a proposed rate adjustment before the Starkville Board of Aldermen at a work session Friday.

The proposal would add $2.00 to residential customers’ monthly base rates, beginning this year, and add an additonal $2.00 in 2027 and 2028, moving that monthly base rate up from $17.03  this year to $23.03 in 2028.

Non-residential customers would see an increase of around 2% per year each year.

Starkville Utilities estimates this will generate $650,000 additional dollars a year for maintaining and modernizing infrastructure, including replacing existing poles and equipment, upgrading substations, and expanding smart grid technology.

The proposed increases would be the first since 2016. During that same time, Starkville Utilities says per-customer operations and maintenance costs have increased 76%.

If approved, the new rates would kick in in November.