CASPER, Wyo. — The Wyoming Public Service Commission is set to hold its third round of public hearings on the proposed Rocky Mountain Power rate increase. Today’s meeting will take place in Riverton but can be attended online through Zoom.
Rocky Mountain Power wants to hike prices by nearly 22%, a request that’s primarily driven by volatile natural gas and coal markets, according to the company. It’s the largest rate increase request the regulated-monopoly utility has made in more than a decade, and it would result in an additional $16.42 per month for the average household customer, according to the company.
Rocky Mountain Power is proposing a 7.6% temporary true-up increase along with the 21.6% base rate. How the rate hike will affect monthly bills differs between residential, business, agricultural and industrial customers. Combined, the average household customer’s monthly bill would increase by $19.94, the company estimates.
The proposed increase has many in Wyoming pushing back against the hike, with more than 150 people and elected officials attending the last public hearing in Casper on Aug. 24. There has also been significant movement at the State Legislature and Casper City Council to address the issue.
Due to the backlash against the proposal Gov. Mark Gordon has called for an increase in the amount of public hearings on the topic, and Secretary of State Chuck Gray has submitted a comment opposing the increase.
Three more public hearings are scheduled before the final rate hearing scheduled from Oct. 25 to Nov. 3. Zoom links for the meetings are provided below.
- Monday, Sept. 18 in Riverton at the Central Wyoming College’s Health and Science Building, Room No. 100, located at 2660 Peck Ave., from 5:30 to 8 p.m.
- Monday, Sept. 25 in Laramie at the Laramie Municipal Operations Center, located at 4373 N. 3rd St., North Platte Conference Room, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.
- Thursday, Oct. 12 in Casper at the Thyra Thomson State Office Building, located at 444 W. Collins Drive, Roundhouse Conference Room # 3024, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.
The audio recordings of the two previous hearings in Casper and Rock Springs can be found on the Wyoming PSC website or in the links above.
