COLUMBUS, Ohio — Columbus City Council approved some ordinances that will increase Columbus residents' utility bills.
According to council member and chair of the public utilities and sustainability committee Christopher Wyche, this increase is a direct reflection of the city’s growth.
“Obviously, we are a growing city and a growing region, and we’re seeing an increase in demand for power and water and still storm water usage. And so it’s really kind of reflecting what that looks like,” said Wyche.
Water bills will increase an average of about $14 per quarter or about $55 a year. For power, residents can expect a monthly bill increase of around six to nine dollars or $70 to $100 a year. This is the first time the city is doing a power rate increase since 2006, which sparked council to launch a new discount program for power rates. Council also expanded eligibility for the discount programs that are already put in place to help mitigate costs for low-income families.
“We’re expanding the eligibility for those discount programs to 200% of the federal poverty level, up from 150%. In addition, we’ll also be providing a bill credit for residents across power, water and sewer as well of about $65 and $50, respectively,” said Wyche.
You can visit columbus.gov/payassist to sign up for the discount programs or call the Columbus customer service number (614)645-8276 to seek assistance. Wyche says all these programs are put in place to make residents’ lives easier.
“We’re trying to get more folks to take advantage of our low-income program. We have additional capacity, but folks just are not aware that these programs exist to kind of make things easier,” said Wyche.
Now that the council has approved the ordinances, the rate adjustments will go into effect starting Jan. 1, 2025.