Outraged by a potential 82 per cent increase in Council's electricity bills, Logan City Councillors have taken a unified stance against Energex, by holding a media conference by candlelight today.
Councillors are concerned about advice recently received from the Minister for Mines and Energy which indicated Council's cost for street lighting would increase by $2.87 million.
Logan Mayor, Councillor Pam Parker, said the massive increase in electricity cost was impossible to justify.
Councillor Parker said Council had increased their electricity budget by 55 per cent in 2008/2009 to cater for the increased number of street lights across the new Logan.
"In the 2008/2009 Budget, Council allocated $3.5m for street lighting costs. The advice we are now receiving is that we will need to budget for almost double this amount," she said.
"Street lighting is essential to every community, not only for motorists but for pedestrian safety as well. We are now being told that we have to pay double what we paid last year, just to keep our city lit.
Deputy Mayor, Councillor Russell Lutton, said the increase was unacceptable for Council and ratepayers.
"This increase is not something we are willing to accept and we do not want to pass on this cost to our ratepayers.
"Energex, Logan's current energy provider, has an obligation to keep Logan residents safe with well lit streets, at a reasonable cost."
Councillor Lutton said Council was given one week's notice to budget for this price increase.
"We were informed about these changes on July 2, a week before we handed down our budget. Far too late to factor this massive increase into any budget discussions," he said.
"The state government can not expect our ratepayers to foot the bill for an 82 per cent increase in the cost of street lighting; it's a simple as that."
Councillor Lutton said he had concerns that the pricing model used for electricity would now be used by the state government to price wholesale water.
"Wholesale water prices have already increased by more than 30 per cent," he said.
"If these are the sorts of increases Council are expected to pay for electricity, what are we going to be expected to pay for water in the near future?"
Council will now write to the Minister of Mines and Energy outlining its objections.