Wrangell Municipal Light & Power is advising residents that electricity will be more expensive during the annual maintenance shutdown of the Tyee Lake hydropower station and transmission line.
The work started yesterday (Thursday), and is expected to last about a week.
During the Tyee shutdown, the utility will burn diesel fuel to generate electricity.
Wrangell Municipal Light & Power Superintendent David McHolland said it will cost about $200,000 for diesel to run the generators during the shutdown.
The costs will be passed through to consumers on their monthly bill.
He said the extent of the cost will depend on how much power customers use during the week.
McHolland suggested residents do what they can to reduce demand for hot water and other appliances that run off electricity.
“Reducing what you can in those areas will help keep costs down,” he said.
“We want to burn as little diesel as possible,” McHolland said. “Fuel costs keep going up and we want to avoid using more than necessary.”
