Rouses Point weighs electricity rates

ROUSES POINT — Village officials are considering how the departure of Pfizer may affect electric rates. Officials aren't sure of the exact numbers once the pharmaceutical company leaves town, but they're zeroing in on a plan. The departure of Phifzer has affected several revenue streams: water, sewer and electric. Rouses Point's rate of return for electric funds is at negative 3.4 percent, according to an auditor's report revealed last week during the board of trustees meeting. The Public Service Commission "considers a positive 3.1 percent rate of return to be reasonable for municipally owned electric utilities," according to that same report. "Our revenue streams are dwindling," Mayor Daniel Letourneau said during last week's meeting. Residents currently pay 1 cent per kilowatt hour for electricity. Village Treasurer Arsene Letourneau said that set village rate is added to the supplemental rate, which changes month-to-month based on usage. The set village rate, he said, is the one being targeted for an increase, which is yet to be determined. "There's a lot to it," he said. "It's impossible to figure that exact amount until they're actually gone." Village officials may initiate a rate study, a two-year process that will look into the current rates and determine future rates through the state Public Service Commission. Electricity rates have not increased since 1982, said Daniel Letourneau, but Pfizer uses 51 percent of the village's electric supply. The company's departure will result in a $1.2 million loss in electricity revenues, according to an announcement made in September by the board of trustees. "The rate increase will happen but not overnight," Letourneau said. "It will be years before this happens. "We've faced two years in a row of losses. We're going to have another one." SEVERAL INCREASES To balance the 2015-16 budget, Arsene Letourneau said $394,484 for water and $398,430 for sewer had to come out of the fund balance. Last year, both rates increased by around 6 percent for sewer and 4 percent for water. With the 2014-15 spending plan, residents faced a spike in price when sewer increased by 4 percent and water by 23 percent. POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS Daniel Letourneau said the possible sale of the 79-acre property would make up for some, or all, of the loss in revenue. The board in September discussed the option of making the property more marketable by taking down some buildings and turning it into some type of industrial park for small and big businesses. Daniel Letourneau said no further advancement on this effort has been made, to his knowledge, since Pfizer is in charge of sales at this time. The goal is to have something in place before Pfizer shuts its doors next year, he said. "We're going to try our hardest to continue to keep costs down for our residents." PFIZER'S DEPARTURE The plan is to complete operations by the end of 2017 and close down sometime in 2018, said Kim Bencker, a company spokesman, via email, who declined to elaborate in her statement. The pharmaceutical plant was not only one of the biggest utility customers, said Daniel Letourneau, but a big job generator for the North Country as well. Pfizer currently employs 120 individuals, said Bencker. That number has dwindled since the company announced plans to pull out in 2005. Since then, the company has downsized in production and employees, including Michelle Gamache, who was laid off three years ago. The 43-year-old Champlain resident said she struggled to find new work after being at Pfizer for 19 years. Gamache said she was laid off along with another small group of fellow employees. "It was definitely an adjustment when I was let go," she said. "But it's going to be a huge loss for the community when they're completely done." CORRECTION: A previous version of this article misstated a quote from Mayor Daniel Letourneau stating there will be a tax increase on electric. That is not the case.

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Rouses Point weighs electricity rates

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