State Commission Slashes Electricity Rates
Public Service Commission mandates 16 to 30 percent cut for residential users and reforms irrigation power billing in Kennewick.
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The state Public Service commission has handed down a decision ordering reductions of 16 to 30 percent in the residential lighting rates charged by the Pacific Power & Light company. The reductions apply to all towns served by the company in the state. Irrigation power users are to pay for the active load instead of the connected load, and not for either installation or maintenance. The decision does not affect industrial power or commercial lighting, but simply irrigation power and residential lighting. Kennewick’s present rate of 13.3 cents per kilowatt hour for the first 30 kilowatts is ordered reduced to 10 cents per kilowatt hour for the first 60 kilowatts. The commission also ordered a discontinuance of special reduced rates to large consumers to end discrimination. It is probable the power company will carry the matter to the courts.
“The decision also covers discrimination between the large and small users of electrical power, the commission ordering a discontinuance of special reduced rates to large consumers.”
Energy costs and utility rate structures remain a high-stakes civic battle in the Tri-Cities today. This 1915 struggle highlights how local irrigation and residential costs have long been tied to central utility mandates, echoing modern debates over energy affordability and corporate control.
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