Yet another increase in electrical rates was approved Tuesday by the Yukon Utilities Board, though on a temporary basis – at least for now.

The interim increase for Yukon Electrical Co. Ltd., together with the hike announced Monday for Yukon Energy, will see the average residential bill for the first 1,000 kilowatts rise from $130.36 a month to $145.60, beginning Monday.

The utilities board announced Tuesday it has accepted a request from Yukon Electrical for an interim increase of 6.5 per cent beginning July 1 for residential and commercial customers.

Yukon Electrical applied May 27 for a rate increase of 12.1 per cent over three years, retroactive to Jan. 1 of this year.

As part of the application, it asked the board to apply on July 1 the 6.5 per cent it's seeking for 2013.

The board agreed.

It ruled the interim rate for the second half of this year was the best way to provide stability should it eventually approve the increase for the full year, back to Jan. 1.

The public hearing into Yukon Electrical's rate application is scheduled for November. The utilities board typically takes several months following the hearing to issue its final decision.

Because commercial customers are billed differently, depending on the customer's base load, it's difficult to calculate what the increase will mean for individual businesses.

Tuesday's ruling comes a day after the utilities board announced its final decision regarding Yukon Energy's application filed last year for a 13 per cent increase in rates in 2012 and 2013.

The board approved an 11.01 per cent increase for Yukon Energy, not the 13 per cent requested.

It agreed in the spring of 2012 with Yukon Energy's request to add a 6.4 per cent interim rate boost on the bill beginning July 1 last year, and another interim increase of 3.75 per cent beginning on Jan. 1 of this year.

As a result of the two interim hikes for Yukon Energy, residential bills for the first 1,000 kilowatts of energy went from $118.26 prior to July 1, 2012 to $130.36 after the second increase was added Jan. 1.

The $130.36 includes the GST, a fluctuating fuel rider of $1.90, and it is the total amount after the maximum government subsidy of $26.60 has been taken off the bill, according to Yukon Energy.

Yukon Energy calculated that with its 11.01 per cent increase applied in full beginning Monday, along with a 12-month "true-up” rate to allow the utility to catch up, the residential bills for the average 1,000 kwh of consumption will climb to $136.76.

Yukon Electrical's interim rate approved Tuesday works out to an additional $8.84 per month, meaning residential bills for 1,000 kwh will climb next week to $145.60.

The monthly residential rate of $145.60 for the first 1,000 kilowatt hours is 23 per cent or $27.34 higher than a year ago.

Both Yukon Electrical and Yukon Energy say the increases are necessary to keep up with the cost of doing business and maintain the profit margins they are entitled to.

Yukon Electrical's interim hike also applies to commercial customers.

The rate elevation approved for Yukon Energy includes a 7.36 per cent increase for its two industrial customers, the Minto Mine and the Bellekeno Mine.

Energy, Mines and Resources Minister Brad Cathers has not announced whether the government will maintain the monthly subsidy beyond March 31, when it's scheduled to expire.

He did say in the legislature this past spring that the subsidy was never intended to be permanent.

It was created in 1998 to protect ratepayers from a sharp hike in rates following that year's closure of the Faro mine, the largest consumer of electricity at the time.