PHOENIX — Salt River Project’s Board of Directors on Monday approved a $64 million price reduction that will save customers an average of almost $2 per month on their electric bill.

The 2.2 percent price reduction — a decrease of about $1.78 per month per customer — will go into effect for the May billing cycle.

“Deliberating pricing measures for SRP customers is one of the most important responsibilities of SRP’s Board,” SRP General Manager and CEO Mike Hummel said in a press release. “I want to thank the Board for demonstrating their commitment to our customers with their engagement and ideas throughout the process.”

The decision was the conclusion of a three-month process and will add on to the temporary 1.5 percent decrease already approved this year.

The proposal did include a “modest base increase” to cover more than $2 billion SRP put into its system, maintenance and new facilities, but that increase is “more than offset by a significant reduction in the cost of fuel,” SRP spokesman Scott Harelson told KTAR News 92.3 FM in December.

The reduction in those costs comes from the utility’s greater reliance on natural gas, which is cheaper than coal and is projected to remain that way, according to an SRP press release.

SRP has more than 1 million customers throughout Arizona.

“(The decrease is) important … because SRP as a community-owned, not-for-profit public power utility, our expenses are passed onto our customers,” Harelson said.

KTAR News 92.3 FM’s Ashley Flood contributed to this report.

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