Lake Tahoe electricity consumers in California will find that their rates will have gone up in September.

The California Public Utilities Commission granted Sierra Pacific Power a 6.4 percent rate increase, raising the bill of the typical residential customer using 650 kilowatt hours to $82.06.

Sierra Pacific filed its last general rate increase in 2002. Since then, it has invested $18.6 million in the electric system, the Reno-based company announced last week.

About 80 percent of Sierra Pacific’s 45,000 California customers live in the Lake Tahoe Basin. The coverage area extends from Portola in the north to Markleeville, Topaz Lake and Coleville in the south. Sierra Pacific serves about 290,000 customers in northern Nevada.

Road project begins today

The South Tahoe Public Utility District plans to pave along the Highway 50 corridor in the Al Tahoe area beginning today.

The paving represents the final construction phase of the ongoing Highway 50 waterline upgrade project.

Traffic will move in the center lane from 3 a.m. to 8 p.m., with road controls in place for all four days.

Today, crews are due to be out from Al Tahoe Boulevard to Lyons Avenue. Both eastbound lanes will be closed

On Tuesday, work will resume from Lyons Avenue to San Jose Avenue. Both westbound lanes will be closed.

On Wednesday, Highway 50 will get a new layer from Blue Lakes to Reno avenues, and both westbound lanes will be closed.

On Thursday, work will take place between Reno and San Jose avenues.

This day will see a later start to the work.