Rising electricity costs caused by the state's power crisis could mean higher water rates in Loma Linda, according to city officials.

Since the city uses an electric pumping system to deliver water to residents, higher power rates could make the process much more costly, the officials said.

Councilman Bob Christman has asked city staff members to examine the issue. He said he is not proposing higher rates, but wants the city to be prepared.

"We're really early in this assessment process," said Tom Parker, Loma Linda's finance director. "It's something we need to be on top of. How much they'll go up and when is yet to be determined. In my opinion, it's really quite preliminary. We need to look at it and monitor the impacts of the costs we're concerned about."

The California Public Utilities Commission approved an emergency rate increase of 1 cent per kilowatt-hour earlier this month.

Dennis Barton, city engineer, said how much the rate increase would cost Loma Linda has yet to be determined.

It also is unknown whether future rate increases might occur.

Loma Linda has not had a water rate increase since 1996, Parker said. The majority of residents pay a base rate of $16 every two months. That does not include the cost of water used, said Deborah Diggs, a supervising account clerk for the city.

Christman worries that if left unchecked, added electricity costs could cause the city to default on $10 million in bonds issued in 1995.

Most of the money went to pay for an underground reservoir near Hulda Crooks Park in the city's southern hills, Parker said.

The city pays $636,000 a year to cover that debt, Parker said.

"I want to make sure we maintain our correct coverage so we're not in default on our bonds," Christman said.

Jacquie Paul can be reached by e-mail at jpaul@pe.com or by phone at (909) 792-6547.