December 14, 2023 |
Photo – Rate Increase sign – Courtesy MelissaGalt.com
Rocky Mountain Power customers in Carbon County and across Wyoming will be hit with a rate increase in January, but smaller than the utility company first proposed.
As negotiations stand now between RMP and the Wyoming Public Service Commission, the utility company will hit its 144,000 Wyoming customers with a general rate increase of about 8.3%. The increase will generate an extra $54 million annually, according to a Rocky Mountain Power calculation of multiple adjustments that the Wyoming Public Service Commission approved in November.
Negotiations aren’t finished yet.
The commission will also issue its final decision before the end of December on a separate, “fuel cost adjustment” of $50.3 million to account for higher-than-estimated natural gas, coal and power market purchases in 2022. That temporary, 12-month hike — about a 7.6% increase — was rolled into customers’ monthly bills beginning in July. The increase could be adjusted higher or lower.
A hearing on the case will be held Tuesday in Cheyenne. The company’s request is being challenged.
As it stands now, Rocky Mountain Power customers will pay about 16% more for electricity beginning in January than they are now. For instance, a $100 monthly electric bill would cost at least $116. The separate fuel cost adjustment, which would be in place for 12-months mean prices could go higher in July for RMP customers.
The state’s public service commission will hear that case, which is being challenged, on Dec. 19 in Cheyenne. The hearing will include an opportunity for public comment and will be live-streamed.
Bottom line: RMP customers can expect about 16% rate increase beginning next month. The new rates will be applied differently than in the current structure depending on a user’s classification as residential, commercial, or industrial. Exact percentages are still being calculated.
All of the parties in the case, including RMP, will have the right to appeal the final decision.
The company’s original proposal filed in March called for a 21.6% increase.
Despite being pared down to 8.6%, with the finalized fuel cost number still to come, the electric rate increase represents the largest hike for electricity that Wyoming customers have faced in recent history.
The company defends the increase saying that its calculations reflect the rising cost of providing electrical service to its Wyoming customers.
