Lansing Board of Water and Light customers should get ready to pay higher utility bills. On Tuesday, a citizen's advisory committee laid out its plan to replace the coal-fired Eckert Power Plant, and while it will be better for the environment it won't be cheap.
BWL customer Billy Bob McClain says he's okay paying a higher monthly bill if it means the utility is using more renewable sources.
"I think in the long run it will be worth all of us paying a little bit more to get clean energy," McClain said.
But McClain has his limits.
"As long as it's not too much of an increase," he noted.
That part isn't clear yet. Since it's still in the proposal phase the BWL doesn't how know much rates will go up. The plan involves down it's aging coal plant, building a new substation and adding more renewable sources, things the BWL says will come at a higher price.
"That will depend on a number of factors, how big it is, what the cost of money because we'd have to bond for it, the cost of fuel, the cost of labor," explained David Price, Chairperson of the BWL's Board of Commissioners.
Price says the utility doesn't want to put an undue burden on customers so it's planning on making rate hikes modest and slowly adding them in over time.
"Just because it may cost more dollar wise you're getting the additional benefit of not having the CO-2 and the particulate pollution from a coal plant," Price added.
Something a recent Epic-MRA survey supports, with 54 percent of residential customers saying they're willing to pay more for cleaner energy. Pollsters say support only goes up when customers know how much more that will cost.
"We tested the idea of paying $10 per month more and 91 percent of those responding said that they'd be willing to pay that amount to pay for renewable energy," said Epic-MRA President Bernie Porn.
McClain is in that majority, as long as the price doesn't get too high.
"Anything that's going to be energy efficient and safer for the environment will be a great thing," he said.
If the plan goes through this would be the first rate hike for BWL customers in two years.
