ANNEXATION NOTE: 2% RATE DROP WHEN ANNEXATION BEGINS
On July 14 the SMUD Board of Directors voted 6-0 (Director Larry Carr was not present) to set SMUD rates at 2% under PG&E rates while paying for PG&E's property in the annexation area. After the buyout ends, rates in Davis, Woodland, and West Sacramento would be the same as the rates in the rest of SMUD territory--about 10% to 25% less than PG&E’s rates.
This SMUD decision puts to rest PG&E claims--trumpeted in full-page newspaper ads and in telephone "polling," that rates will increase substantially under annexation.
As part of the annexation process, SMUD filed its Sacramento LAFCO application on August 1. If LAFCO approves the application, voters in Davis, West Sacramento, and Woodland will get to vote on it in the November 2006 election. In mid-August LAFCO requested an advisory opinion from the California Public Utilities Commission on whether or not annexation of 72,000-plus customers in Yolo County would have a harmful effect on remaining PG&E’s remaining 4.9 million electricity customers.
The text of the SMUD LAFCO filing follows on the link "LAFCO Application" at: http://www.smud.org/annexation/lafco_application.html
For more information, go to www.SMUD.org or
www.publicpowernow.org .
Dan Berman
Last updated 9-12-2005