Assembly approves December diesel surcharge to recover unbudgeted cold-weather electricity generation costs

Petersburg utility customers will see a small surcharge on their January bills to cover the cost of running diesel generators during December’s extreme cold snap, following a 6-1 vote by the Borough Assembly at its Jan. 20 meeting.

The diesel generation adjustment charge of 0.32 cents per kilowatt will apply to all electricity used in December and is expected to recover about $24,000 in unbudgeted expenses for fuel, lubricating oil and overtime, according to Utility Director Karl Hagerman.

“The extreme cold temperatures experienced in December caused SEAPA’s output to be maxed out during peak...