Last year Edison Sault requested authority from the Michigan Public Service Commission (MPSC) to reimplement its Power Supply Cost Recovery (PSCR) clause. The PSCR clause (as approved by the MPSC and implemented on May 1, 2002) allows Edison Sault to pass through to its customers any increases or decreases in the cost of obtaining power supply. Base rates for Edison Sault Electric customers have not been increased since 1982, the last time Edison Sault had a formal rate case.

For November and December, the reduction will amount to .30 cents per kilowatt-hour, or $3.00 for a typical residential customer using 1,000 kWh a month. Edison Sault has requested the MPSC to continue the reductions throughout the year 2003 at a level of .03 cents per kilowatt-hour, or 30 cents per month for a customer using 1,000 kWh.

Don Sawruk, President of Edison Sault, attributed the reduction to lower costs related to the company’s purchased power contract with the U. S. Corp of Engineers, and a softening of power costs in the wholesale market. Some of the reductions in costs for this year are expected to be offset by contractual price changes scheduled for 2003 from Edison Sault’s two main outside power providers, We-Energies and Consumers Energy.

"We are pleased that we were able to freeze the rates to our customers for nearly seven years, and then follow up that period with a rate reduction," said Sawruk. "Edison Sault will continue to have electric rates that are among the lowest in the State."