If you live in one of these Pierce County cities, your electric and gas bills may go up
Residents of Lakewood and Puyallup may soon see a slight increase in their electric and natural gas bills.
Puget Sound Energy announced last week that it has gone to the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission (UTC) to raise those rates.
“The requested changes are proposed to be effective on April 1, 2025,” PSE said in a news release.
According to tables from PSE, residents in every city it covers who use who use 800 kilowatts per month will see a decrease in one cent each month for both their electric and natural gas bills — except for Lakewood and Puyallup.
According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, the average American used 899 kilowatts of electricity per month in 2022.
For electricity, residents in Lakewood who use 800 kilowatts per month would pay an extra $1.33 a month under the proposed changes. Those in Puyallup who use 800 kilowatts would pay an extra $2.40. When it comes to natural gas, residents in Lakewood who use 64 therms per month will pay $1.11 extra, while those in Puyallup who use 64 therms will pay $1.99.
PSE told the News Tribune that the increases for Lakewood and Puyallup customers would happen because those cities recently raised their utility taxes. Because that increased tax makes it more expensive for PSE to operate in those cities, PSE would pass that down to its customers if the UTC approves the changes.
“The UTC allows PSE to increase the amount it charges its customers to recover the cost of a city/county utility tax levy and the additional expenses associated with collection of the utility tax,” PSE said in an email to The News Tribune.
The City of Lakewood sent an email to The News Tribune saying they increased rates for electric and gas from 5% to 6% on Jan. 1, 2025.
“Prior to Jan. 1, 2025, Lakewood levied a 5% tax gross income for electric and gas services and 6% of gross income for solid waste, cable, cellular phone, landlines and storm drainage,” Brynn Grimley, spokesperson for the City of Lakewood, wrote. “The rate on electric and gas increased from 5% to 6% with the 2025-2026 biennial budget adoption.”
Grimley also said residents who use Lakeview Light & Power can expect to see an average monthly increase of $1.08 due to the new tax rate. Bonney Lake, Buckley, Carbonado, University Place and Fife all have 6% taxes on electricity and natural gas.
“This new increased utility tax rate brings Lakewood in alignment with the majority of surrounding cities,” Grimley wrote. “It is also consistent with the utility tax on phone/cell, cable TV, solid waste and stormwater.”
Grimley told The News Tribune that the tax increase will bring $500,000 in revenue. Grimley said that money will be used to fund four police officer positions. These are not new positions — rather, the funding will allow the city to keep four of its existing police officers.
“Public safety is a priority of the City Council, so cutting police positions would not be something they would want to see done because of public safety,” Grimley said. “If we couldn’t come up with the funding, we’d have to look at where else we’d get it and if we don’t get the funding, we’d have to eliminate positions.”
In Puyallup, the city increased its utility tax on PSE from 4.2% in 2024 to 6% in 2025. This will bring in $1.1 million in revenue for the city, said Eric Johnson, spokesperson for the City of Puyallup, in an email to The News Tribune.
“[The revenue] will go towards funding the Public Safety Building project,” Johnson wrote.
The Puyallup City Council approved a lease for a new police station on Aug. 20, 2024. The city plans to move its police station to the Benaroya Business and Technology Center near Bradley Lake Park. The project also includes revamping the aging police station downtown into a police substation. The jail will also remain downtown.
Voters rejected a bond proposal to build a new police station three times, most recently in November 2023. The city is now paying for the project in large part through councilmanic bonds, which are bonds the city issues on itself and then pays off over time, that don’t require voter approval.
