Residents in Westcliffe, Silver Cliff, and parts of the Oak Creek Grade that are provided electricity by Black Hills Energy will be seeing a 6.7% increase in their power bills due to an approved increase in rates.
Power companies like Black Hills Energy are not allowed to raise rates when they desire. Instead, they must get approval through the Colorado Public Utilities Commission (PUC) to receive the requested rate increase.
In March, the PUC allowed Black Hills to increase rates. However, it was less than the $25 million the company had requested in 2024.
Black Hills Energy is a South Dakota-based business that has 309,000 customers in Southern Colorado, including larger cities like Cañon City, Florence, and Pueblo. Still, it does branch out to smaller mountain communities like Westcliffe and Silver Cliff.
Initially, the company sought a $37 million increase, which would have raised the average monthly electricity bill, for 600 kilowatt-hours, by 18% to $129 a month. However, local protests and letters from dozens of elected officials of the local government forced the company to lower that request to $25 million.
Black Hills Energy stated that the increases were needed to cover the costs of service upgrades and more equipment to shore up aging powerlines and power poles.
According to Black Hills Energy, the approved $17 million increase will raise the average residential monthly bill by 6.7% or $7.40 a month. The bills of small commercial customers will also go up by 6.7% or about $17.50 a month.
Issues with Black Hills Energy have been fomenting over the past decade, with several cities in the past, including Pueblo and Cañon City holding failed votes to separate themselves from Black Hills Energy and create their own power system. Rural areas of Custer and Western Fremont County are served by Sangre de Cristo Electric, a cooperative organization where customers are voting members.
However, the cost for large cities to join such a cooperative would be more than a billion dollars, and the proposals have been voted down. But the desire to gain control over local power still remains, and the City of Pueblo will once again vote in May not to renew future contracts with Black Hills Energy.
– Jordan Hedberg