Amy Dominguez, amy.dominguez@sierraclub.org
WYOMING – Yesterday, Wyoming’s Public Service Commission (PSC) held its second public comment hearing for community members to weigh in on Rocky Mountain Power’s (RMP) rate hike, the largest proposed rate increase that customers have seen in over a decade. Several community members participated in the hearing, advocating against the proposed rate increase that would raise residential rates by 20.3%, increasing average costs for customers by about $16.42 per month to start on January 1, 2024.
In its proposal, Rocky Mountain Power attributes 97 percent of the adjustment to cover the cost of highly volatile fossil fuel prices, underscoring why this investment would be a gamble funded by ratepayers. Rocky Mountain Power is also requesting to eliminate an important cost sharing band that is intended to encourage the utility to try to reduce costs. By eliminating this mechanism, 100 percent of the cost risk for unpredictable fossil fuel prices would be shifted onto the shoulders of customers, allowing RMP to recklessly spend on ratepayers’ dime.
While Rocky Mountain Power attempts to blame increasing costs on renewables, expert testimony has demonstrated that the biggest impact to market prices are swings in gas prices, and that the availability of renewable energy doesn’t shift market prices in a significant way. In reality, the volatility of fossil fuels is difficult to predict – keeping customers who have no say on these investments on the hook for Rocky Mountain Power’s bad business decisions.
It’s up to Wyoming’s Public Service Commission, the regulating body that has the authority to ensure that utilities provide customers with reliable services and fair rates, to hold Rocky Mountain Power accountable to act responsibly, and to restore the cost sharing band that ensures RMP acts with ratepayers in mind.
In April, Sierra Club submitted a petition to intervene before the Public Service Commission of Wyoming to ensure that Rocky Mountain’s proposed rates are just and reasonable.
“Rocky Mountain Power operates as a monopoly utility that, as we’ve seen time again, primarily seeks to serve its own interests despite claiming to prioritize its customers,” said Andrew Schneider, Sierra Club Volunteer. “That’s exactly what we’re seeing play out in this rate case, with Rocky Mountain Power proposing to offload its risk on to ratepayers, gambling on our dime. This rate hike could severely burden Wyomingites who are barely making ends meet and undercut many of our small businesses that are already struggling . It’s up to the PSC to ensure that customers are protected from Rocky Mountain Power’s imprudent decisions.”
The Public Service Commission will hold additional comment hearings in Laramie and Fremont Counties.
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About the Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with millions of members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person's right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.