The Grand River Dam Authority has informed the City of Osawatomie that it owes another $261,000 to cover the mid-February cold spell that hit the area. The City of Osawatomie initially received around $700,000 in charges for the two week period, roughly the cost of six to eight months during a regular year. The city is now faced with extending a temporary rate increase it established in April to cover the bill.
The City Council voted unanimously to extend that 36 month rate increase to 56 months to cover the new bill, or raise electric rates again. Something City staff and the Council said they were not prepared to do.
The Grand River Dam Authority says their costs during the storm were over $102 million. They have been sending new bills to many communities including Garnett, Baldwin and Ottawa. Ottawa’s latest from Grand River was a little over a million dollars.