Utility approves budgets for 2026

Clark Public Utilities avoided a budget shortfall this year and will keep power rates steady next year with some help from the Climate Commitment Act.

On Tuesday morning, the utility’s board of commissioners unanimously approved separate budgets of $500 million for the electric system, $95 million for the generating system and $41 million for the water system.

The utility budgeted $500 million in expenses for its electric system, with slight increases in the areas of operations and maintenance, as well as conservation programs.

The utility expects to bring in $502.5 million in revenue for the electric system, a surplus of $2.5 million. About $1.25 million is from Washington’s Climate Commitment Act auctions intended to offset the state program’s costs for consumers and utilities. The utility also anticipates its electric sales and market sales to be higher than the 2025 budget.

The utility expects the River Road Generating Plant to raise $96.8 million in revenue in 2026. That’s a slight decrease from the $97.5 million budgeted for this year. The utility expects operating expenses to be $94.1 million, just over the $93.9 million expected in 2025.

Expenses for the water system were set at $41.1 million for 2026, significantly higher than the $25.6 million spent in 2025. The utility also expects to bring in roughly $41.2 million in revenue. The commissioners voted to raise rates for its 41,000 water customers earlier this year to help pay for capital improvements on the system.