The Newark City Council  Monday night approved a new electrical rate design that adds a monthly charge for supplying electricity for customers.

The charge will raise the rates of those who use little electricity, but should keep rates about the same for the bulk of  residential customers.

In return, the University of Delaware will  $ 1 million less,  after a study from a consulting firm hired by the city indicated that residential customers were being subsidized by rates paid by the largest users. It is also hoped that UD and the city will be able to attract new employers to the city with a revised rate structure. 

UD is the largest electricity user in the city by a wide margin, with Dow, formerly Rohm and Haas also getting a rate for major users.

The rate design was studied earlier by the council and by representatives of various classes of electricity users.