Late last Wednesday, July 7, Mayor Vivian Jones announced that the two final approvals for the sale of the town’s power generation assets have been issued, clearing the way for the sale to be final, probably on July 31.
That will mean that on Aug. 1 the town will begin paying a lower rate – estimated at 9 percent lower – for its wholesale power from Duke Power. Wake Forest and 31 other North Carolina towns and cities will sign a 30-year contract with Duke Power as part of the sale deal.
The sale will also reduce the town’s debt by 66 percent to $640,000 from $1.89 million. It will be paid off with bonds over 10 years at 2.9 percent interest.
While other cities and towns may reduce their electric rates immediately, Wake Forest has chosen to fund a rate study in this fiscal year and make any changes to the residential and commercial rates based on that study. New Town Manager Kip Padgett will lead the search for the firm to make the rate study. In May Wake Forest Power had 6,037 customers. Wake Electric and Duke Progress Energy also have customers in the town.
To follow the progress of the sale, type in “power” in the search box on the front page of the Gazette.
