RP&L’s union workers to receive yearly 3% raises

Richmond Power & Light and its employees’ union have agreed to a new three-year contract.

Tony Foster, general manager of RP&L, received unanimous approval Oct. 6 from the utility’s board, which is composed of Richmond Common Council members, to sign the contract. It will run through Sept. 30, 2028.

The contract with International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers 1395 calls for a 3% salary increase each of the three years. Employees also will receive an additional personal day, and they’ll receive a third week of vacation after five years, rather than seven.

Additional changes include the ability to split sick time into two-hour increments, rather than four, and an increase in employees’ boot allowance to $150 with a $450 maximum accumulation from $125 and $375.

With a number of retirements, RP&L also eliminated the required ratio of journeymen to apprentices, something Foster said could be revisited in the future. Language about internships is also changed to permit internships during the school year. Indiana is offering more opportunities for internships before graduation.

Public Power Week

For Public Power Week, Foster told the board there are more than 2,000 public power electrical utilities that serve more than 55 million people in 49 states and five U.S. territories. Public power utilities are not-for-profit entities overseen by local governments.

Foster said RP&L has 16,334 residential customers and 4,953 commercial or industrial customers. While residential accounts are 76% of the utility’s customers, they provide just 21% of the sales.

Foster encouraged customers to register for the free SmartHub service to manage their RP&L accounts. The utility pays about 80 cents per mailed bill and is attempting to convert as many customers to electronic payments as possible. Although 81% of RP&L customers continue receiving mailed bills — a decrease of 8% — Foster said 43% more are using autopay, 26% more are using the mobile app and 22% more are using the SmartHub website.

Equipment bids

Foster opened one bid for a 71-foot bucket truck for the line department. Altec, which is located in Indianapolis, bid $307,338 and offered $6,000 in trade for the current unit, making the final price $301,338. The bid was taken under advisement.

The board also unanimously granted Foster permission to solicit bids for a horizontal directional drill for the line department. The utility plans to trade in a 2015 drill and trailer.

The bucket truck and drill are both in the 2025 capital budget.