As part of its year-end accounting procedures, the city of Venice utilities department recently updated its projections for annual utilities costs (electric, solid waste, water and sewer).

The news wasn't good. It's short $285,000.

This year the city budgeted $962,348, but Florida Light and Power has been upping its charges for the power required to run the city's treatment plants -- by 22 percent over the past 12 to 16 months, according to Utilities Director Len Bramble.

This year's bill is being estimated at $1.25 million. Forty-six percent of the cost goes toward running the water plant. Another 44 percent powers the sewer plant, with the remaining 10 percent powering wastewater lift stations.

It isn't far off from last year's electric bill of $1.22 million, according to Bramble.

The city's bill jumped from $971,000 in fiscal year 2005 bill to $1.22 million in 2006, but the budgeted amount for 2007 was made in early spring of 2006, just after the jump.

"We didn't know the full impact at that time," said Bramble.

Over the past five years the department has experienced an increase in total electrical costs in excess of $500,000, Bramble said.

More than $200,000 of the $285,000 budget transfer requested by Bramble will come from the account funded by increased rate hikes for city utilities customers. New rates were implemented in June.

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