Local cities recently received a little more than $750,000 in franchise fee payments from the PUD.
In exchange for providing electricity within city limits, we are required to pay a fee to the city for the ability to use public spaces, like roads and sidewalks. This is called a franchise fee.
Currently, customers within the city limits of Rainier, Columbia City, and St. Helens see a line item on their bill for 1% of total charges.
Beginning July 1, customers in the Scappoose city limits will begin seeing this line item as well. For the average residential customer, this should equate to an increase of about 95ยข per month.