Richmond Power & Light projects a net income of nearly $700,000 during 2025.
The RP&L board, which is composed of Richmond Common Council members, approved RP&L’s 2025 budget during the board’s Dec. 2 meeting. The board met Nov. 12 for a detailed budget presentation.
The budget expects total income of $95,168,883 with total expenses of $94,478,798, which would leave a net income of $690,084, although Tony Foster, RP&L’s general manager, said the utility generally does not spend all of its budget. In addition, the board passed a resolution setting RP&L employee salaries with a 3% raise.
The 2025 budget estimates the utility will sell 909,101,754 kilowatt-hours of electricity. RP&L expects to spend $72,113,958 to purchase power from its supplier, the Indiana Municipal Power Agency.
Adjustments for 2025 include $100,000 for a new rate study and additional legal expenses because 2025 is a negotiation year with the utility workers’ union. There’s also money allocated for repairs noted in a transformer study conducted this year.
The budget also includes planned capital expenditures for equipment, maintenance and construction.
Saving pennies
Foster presented the board RP&L’s energy cost adjustment for the first quarter of 2025. The ECA will drop $0.005314 per kilowatt hour — essentially a half-cent — for residential customers.
Although the base rate does not change, the ECA enables RP&L to adjust for fluctuations in the price it pays for energy. The first-quarter ECA will be $0.010864 per kilowatt-hour, which is a little more than a penny.
The board unanimously approved the ECA.
Transformer bids
Foster opened four valid bids to provide RP&L two large-power transformers for the Richmond substation. The initial cost is built into the 2025 budget.
The bids for each transformer, including on-site work, were:
- $2,771,925 by Virginia Transformer Corp. of Roanoke, Virginia.
- $2,822,649 by OTC Services of Louisville, Ohio.
- $2,933,183 by Delta Star Inc. of Lynchburg, Virginia.
- $2,995,754 by Pennsylvania Transformer Technology of Canonsburg, Pennsylvania.
The bids were taken under advisement, and Foster will return to the board with a recommendation.
A version of this article appeared in the December 11 2024 print edition of the Western Wayne News.