Residents can expect to see higher electricity bills beginning Jan. 1 according to a statement released this week by the Umatilla Electric Cooperative. The UEC is raising retail rates for all classes of service because of an increase in wholesale electricity prices.

On Oct. 1, the company that supplies power to the UEC, Bonneville Power Administration, increased the cost of wholesale electricity by approximately 9 percent to all public utilities in the Northwest. BPA is a federal, nonprofit agency serving public utilities in Oregon and other states in the West.

According to the released statement, average rates for residential customers will increase by 9.5 percent. The increase will end up costing the average residential utility customer approximately $10 more per month or about 34 cents per day. UEC general manager and CEO Steve Eldridge explained the reasons for the rate hikes in a prepared statement.

Although costs are rising in all aspects of our business, we have held the line or decreased our other expenses, Eldridge said. Our board and staff remain focused on continuing to refine our operations and on keeping our rates as low as possible.

On Jan. 1, residents will pay 6.37 cents for the first 1,300 kilowatt-hours in the winter months and the first 900 kilowatt-hours in summer months. Customers will pay 8.34 cents for kilowatt-hours over those levels. The new rate schedule will also include a hike in the residential monthly customer charge of 50 cents bringing the new total to $14. According to the release, the monthly customer charge helps defray some of UECs non-energy costs that are necessary to serve customers. The last rate increase was on Jan. 1, 2012.

To learn more about the rate increases there will be an open house from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. Nov. 25 at the Umatilla Electric Cooperative in Hermiston.