Effective December 1, Alliance electric customers will begin paying up to one cent per kilowatt hour more for their electricity.

The Alliance City Council approved the increase Thursday night.

The rate increase was implemented because the city was paying more for its electricity from MEAN, the Municipal Energy Agency of Nebraska.

“We’re currently charging, overall, about 8 cents per kwh, but we’re paying 9 cents for the power from MEAN,”  said Alliance City Manager J.D. Cox.

“The city has absorbed the loss over the past few months by pulling money from reserves,” he added.   “In October we had to pull over $150,000 from reserves for electric.” 

Alliance is not the only municipality effected by higher electric costs, last week the Nebraska Public Power District Board of Directors approved a 3.75 percent increase that will begin January 1. Cox says it is a trend that is expected to continue statewide and across the nation.

The City of Alliance has commissioned a rate study which is currently underway, with the study results to be made public in March.