THE AREA IN BRIEF - Enumclaw: Council whittles natural gas rate increase to 68 percent

Rob Tucker; The News Tribune

Natural gas rates in Enumclaw will jump 68 percent, but that's less than the 86 percent rate increase the city announced last month.

The City Council decided Monday to cut the municipal budget to reduce the 86 percent rate increase it passed Dec. 11.

The new gas rate, effective through Oct. 31, means an average residential customer will pay $90.72 per month.

That's a 68 percent increase, or a $36.72 rise, from the previous monthly bill of $54.

The city gas utility serves 3,700 gas customers in the city and in outlying areas. Customers include homes, businesses and schools.

The City Council reached the lesser rate increase by reducing the gas utility tax, renegotiating with the supplier for a longer-term contract, laying off a utility engineer, deferring all line replacements for a year and deferring payments to the gas utility's vehicle replacement fund for a year, City Administrator Mark Bauer said.

The rate increase occurred because the city had little choice in a tight energy market, city officials said.

"It looks like a long-term thing," City Councilman Lou Gerlach said. "That's the best we could do."

- Rob Tucker, The News

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-- Martin Thompson (mthom1927@aol.com), January 10, 2001

Answers

Where is Enumclaw?

-- John Littmann (littmannj@aol.com), January 11, 2001.

Enumclaw is in the cascade foothills southeast of Seattle.

-- Martin Thompson (mthom1927@aol.com), January 11, 2001.