Elizabeth City officials expressed disappointment Friday that no one from the public attended a hearing on a proposal to raise the city's electric rates by 14 percent.

Ken Raber, a top official with the city's electric supplier, gave City Council an overview Friday on why the electric rate hike is needed. But no one from the public except Albemarle Economic Development Commission Director Wayne Harris was on hand to hear it.

Councilwoman Jean Baker was dismayed by the turnout.

"I sure was shocked to see not one person from the public," Baker said. "What a great opportunity (it was) for them to come, hear what (Raber) has to say and ask questions."

Baker said she has spoken with residents who aren't pleased about the increase, which, if approved next week, is expected to raise the average Elizabeth City customer's bill by $196 a year. Even so, a number of residents appear to know why the increase is needed, she said.

"A lot of people understand it," Baker said. "They're business people."

Baker, City Manager Rich Olson and council members Volanda Watts, Betty Meggs and Tony Stimatz heard Raber make the same presentation about the rate increase at a recent meeting of the North Carolina Eastern Municipal Power Agency's rate committee in Rocky Mount. NCEMPA is the power cooperative whose 32 member cities and towns — including Elizabeth City, Edenton and Hertford — buy and sell electricity to customers.

Raber, senior vice president of ElectriCities Services/NCEMPA, said Friday he had spoken to citizens in three NCEMPA-member cities, but aside from online blogs has not heard many public comments on the proposed rate increase. The goal of his presentation, he said, is to help customers understand why their rates are rising.

"I think it's a general feeling of, 'Why is this happening?'" he said.

Most of the proposed 14 percent rate increase is due to a rise in fuel costs, Raber said. The power agency's coal plants in Roxboro and Mayo, for example, use Central Appalachia coal, which has increased in price from $30 a ton in 2002 to more than $100 a ton today.

In addition, the price for raw uranium — used to produce nuclear energy — has also increased. In the past, uranium typically sold below $20 per pound. Recently, it sold for $135 per pound, power agency officials have said.

Raber said there is a misconception that NCEMPA buys electricity and then marks up the cost to make a profit from its customers.

"We're using our staff as efficiently as possible to reduce costs," Raber said.

Councilwoman Anita Hummer asked Raber why ElectriCities CEO Jesse Tilton is paid $438,043 a year in salary. She said the city has been receiving calls from customers concerned about the size of Tilton's compensation.

While Raber said he couldn't discuss salaries, he said Tilton's salary ensures the power agency has the most knowledgeable and capable person looking out for its interests.

Almost half of NCEMPA's projected $600 million-plus budget this year will go toward retiring the power agency's debt. Almost $200 million will go toward operating costs and more than $100 million will purchase supplemental power from Progress Energy, the power agency's partner in a nuclear power plant, and other power sources.

About $20 million of NCEMPA's costs will go for administration.

The NCEMPA board of directors is expected to adopt the 14 percent increase at its meeting next Friday. City Council has scheduled a public hearing at City Hall on the rate hike July 30 at 5:30 p.m.

If the rate hike is approved, Elizabeth City is expected to pass on the entire 14 percent increase to all 10,000 city electric customers. Most customers will start to notice the rate increase in their September bills, Olson has said.

For the average homeowner who uses 1,000 kilowatt hours of power each month, the rate hike translates into a monthly increase of $16.32, Olson has said.

The average monthly electric bill will rise from $116.55 to $132.87 — or about $196 more a year.

While much of Raber's presentation Friday focused on electricity usage, he also talked about ways customers of power agency members can reduce their energy consumption.

Residents can save energy by having an audit performed on their home and using central heating instead of a space heater, he said.

"The biggest thing that I'm trying to get across to people is we have to change how we think about electricity," Raber said.

Staff writer Bob Montgomery and Rocky Mount Telegram staff writer John Henderson contributed to this report.