Pueblo, CO

<div> Pueblo County Commissioners grilled Black Hills Energy officials Thursday about a proposed 18% rate increase which they said would bankrupt small businesses, stymie economic development and stress already struggling lower-income residents. Black Hills Vice President of Colorado Utilities Campbell Hawkins and Regulatory Director Michael Harrington addressed the board during a work session in an effort to explain why the utility is seeking an 18% rate increase that would equal 2.25% a year for the past eight years since the utility was last granted an increase. If approved by the Public Utilities Commission, starting in late March, Pueblo residents with an average $129 monthly bill would see an average $20 a month increase and small businesses with an average of $276 monthly bills would see an average increase of about $25 a month, Harrington told the Pueblo County Commissioners. <nbtemplate data-id="AdPlaceholder" data-content="JTdCJTdE"></nbtemplate><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=0luHHo_0udKzLzu00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=0luHHo_0udKzLzu00" width="1920" height="1158" > "An 18% increase in our rates is unexplainable," said Eppie Griego, commission chairman. "You say $20, that's not much but let me tell you to a hard-working family in Pueblo, that is food on the table." "We recognize the effect of high energy bills on our customers," Hawkins told the board. "We will focus on disadvantaged customers with a local energy assessment team that will work to help disproportionately impacted community members." <nbtemplate data-id="AdPlaceholder" data-content="JTdCJTdE"></nbtemplate> Hawkins said budget billing, deferred payments and payment plans as well as every form of federal and state assistance available will be offered to customers. A customer education campaign also will help customers use less, become more efficient and reduce waste. <iframe height="429" src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/video.php?height=314&amp;href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FPuebloCounty%2Fvideos%2F1651815082329150%2F&amp;show_text=true&amp;width=560&amp;t=1020" width="100%"></iframe> Commissioner Daneya Esgar said the proposed rate increase is, "kind of a slap in the face." <nbtemplate data-id="AdPlaceholder" data-content="JTdCJTdE"></nbtemplate> She talked about Pueblo nonprofits whose "sole mission is to help people keep the lights on so they can stay in housing. I am just tired of it." "I am sorry we are frustrated. I have been dealing with this for over a decade," Esgar said, pointing out she fought for Pueblo before she became a state legislator, while she was at the capitol, and continues today as a commissioner. She recalled in 2016 when Pueblo residents received a 24% rate increase "basically overnight" and "fought to get people in the Legislature to listen. "In 2016, due to that pressure, you were directed by the PUC to make it more affordable — that was not goodwill and not good service on your part, it was something you were mandated to do," Esgar said. <nbtemplate data-id="AdPlaceholder" data-content="JTdCJTdE"></nbtemplate> Commissioner Zach Swearingen echoed Esgar's concerns, saying Pueblo's rates are "40% higher than anywhere on Colorado's Front Range" and a "big barrier to economic development." "Large-scale manufacturers can't come here," he said, because of the high energy costs. Hawkins said Black Hills is committed to working with regulators and the legislature to bring new economic development tools to Pueblo. "We are committed to finding a solution and trying to help offer incentives and sometimes that is a long, arduous process, but we can find options," to take to the PUC, Harrington said. <img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=3VMk5F_0udKzLzu00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=3VMk5F_0udKzLzu00" width="1200" height="798" ><nbtemplate data-id="AdPlaceholder" data-content="JTdCJTdE"></nbtemplate><h2 class="presto-h2 wp-block-heading"> Why Black Hills is asking for the increase </h2> Hawkins said the reason for the rate increase is complex. Basically, he said, the two main factors include the significant investment the company had to make in the distribution and transmission system when it purchased the utility, as well as the fact that the "power supply was out — your coal provider was not going to provide power," so Black Hills had to look elsewhere to obtain that power. "We are faced with rising costs and the customer base is not rising at the same level as our costs," Harrington said. The company also has investor's needs to balance. "We are an investor-run utility and we have to offer our investors a fair return," Hawkins said. <h2 class="presto-h2 wp-block-heading"> What happens next? </h2><nbtemplate data-id="AdPlaceholder" data-content="JTdCJTdE"></nbtemplate> Hawkins pledged to keep in contact with the commissioners as the process moves forward. The increase will have to be approved by the Public Utilities Commission and, "we seldom get what we request," he said. "It is the role of the (Public Utilities) commission to be the hand that balances the community's interest and the utility's interest," Hawkins said. More Black Hills news: <a href="https://www.chieftain.com/story/news/2024/07/23/pueblo-council-unanimously-opposes-black-hills-rate-increases/74510908007/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> Pueblo City Council 'steadfast' in opposing Black Hills Energy rate increases </a> Chieftain reporter Tracy Harmon covers business&nbsp;news. She can be reached&nbsp;by email at tharmon@chieftain.com&nbsp;or via X , formerly Twitter, at <a href="https://twitter.com/tracywumps" rel="noreferrer noopener nofollow" target="_blank"> twitter.com/tracywumps </a> . Support local news, subscribe to The Pueblo Chieftain at <a href="https://subscribe.chieftain.com/offers" rel="nofollow"> subscribe.chieftain.com . </a> This article originally appeared on The Pueblo Chieftain: <a href="https://www.chieftain.com/story/news/2024/07/25/pueblo-commissioners-grill-black-hills-on-unexplainable-rate-increase/74545031007/" rel="nofollow"> 'A slap in the face': Pueblo commissioners grill Black Hills on proposed rate increase </a></div>

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The Pueblo Chieftain

Pueblo County Commissioners grilled Black Hills Energy officials Thursday about a proposed 18% rate increase which they said would bankrupt small businesses, stymie economic development and stress already struggling lower-income residents.
                        Black Hills Vice President of Colorado Utilities Campbell Hawkins and Regulatory Director Michael Harrington addressed the board during a work session in an effort to explain why the utility is seeking an 18% rate increase that would equal 2.25% a year for the past eight years...

'A slap in the face': Pueblo commissioners grill Black Hills on proposed rate increase

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