YOUR AD HERE »

Mountain Parks Electric raising rates in the new year

Granby-based utility company Mountain Parks Electric will increase its electric rates by 1.1 percent in 2019, resulting in residential customers seeing a $1.50 increase per month.

In an explanation for the rate change, Mountain Parks Electric cited the rising costs of maintaining power lines, recruiting and retaining workforce and the increased inflation rate.

The company also said that it is selling less electricity per customer than previous years because its promotion of energy efficiency, including LED light bulbs.

Mountain Parks Electric last raised electric rates in 2017.

This fall, Mountain Parks Electric hired an independent rate consultant to calculate the appropriate charge for the cost of providing electric service, according to its electric rate adjustment explanation.

The consultant suggested raising the monthly service charge by $4, but the Mountain Parks Electric Board of Directors only raised the charge by $1.50 per month. This is the first raise in the monthly service charge in six years.

“We just felt that ($4) would be too big of an increase at one time,” said Tom Sifers, general manager of Mountain Parks Electric.

He added that since Mountain Parks Electric is a nonprofit, they try to only charge to cover operating costs and not to make a profit.

Despite its expanding customer base, Mountain Parks Electric has reduced its operating costs by $300,000 a year through cost-cutting initiatives, such as electronic billing, and downsizing its workforce.


Support Local Journalism

Support Local Journalism

The Sky-Hi News strives to deliver powerful stories that spark emotion and focus on the place we live.

Over the past year, contributions from readers like you helped to fund some of our most important reporting, including coverage of the East Troublesome Fire.

If you value local journalism, consider making a contribution to our newsroom in support of the work we do.