Kaua'i residents can expect their electricity bills, on average, to increase by about $8 each month beginning in June "at the latest," Kaua'i Island Utility Cooperative Chief Financial Officer David Bissell, the Garden Island newspaper reported.

The increase is due to an "overall interim revenue" growth for KIUC of around 4.6 percent from the "residential class" following an approval from the Hawai'i Public Utilities Commission on Friday.

Commercial entities are slated to receive an average increase of about 2.5 percent, Bissell said.

This is the first rate increase from the co-op since the mid-1990s and is expected to not only help balance margins, but stabilize financials and make members slightly less susceptible to fluctuations, Bissell said Saturday. "In my opinion, this will be a minor impact," he said.

IUC originally filed for a rate increase of 10.5 percent in June 2009, which would have meant a nearly $13 million increase in overall revenue.