Madison Increases Electric Rates; Global Polymer Still Saving Money

The Madison City Commission is raising electric rates for its customers. With the barest quorum present Monday night, the commission voted 3–0 to reconfigure city electric bills to show a base rate and a separate surcharge. That surcharge goes into a new fund dedicated to maintaining and upgrading the municipal electrical system. The net damage: roughly 5% increases for all customers, residential and commercial.

That rate increase will cut into Global Polymer's bottom line. That company just broke ground on its new facility in Madison last Wednesday. Global Polymer bolted from Arlington due to that city's high electric rates. At Madison's new rates, Global Polymer will still enjoy 18% savings on their per-kilowatt-hour rate from what they were paying in Arlington. But it increases the gap between what they'll pay in Madison and what they could have saved by moving to Howard or Brookings, where electricity is a full penny cheaper per kilowatt-hour.

Of course, this assumes Global Polymer will face the same rate increases as other customers in Madison. The articles about Global Polymer's escape from Arlington keep mentioning the big role Heartland played in bringing the manufacturer to Madison. I wonder what their incentive package looks like and how it compares with the breaks long-standing businesses in the community receive on their utility rates.