(COLORADO SPRINGS) — At a Utilities Board meeting on Wednesday, Aug. 21, Colorado Springs Utilities (Springs Utilities) will propose its 2025 budget and rate changes, to include a new rate based on time-of-day usage.
According to Springs Utilities, as a community-owned utility, Springs Utilities does not profit from customer rates, and instead the rate increases go to support the facilities and infrastructure that make reliable service possible.
Springs Utilities is proposing base rate increases of 6.5% for electric and water, 4% for natural gas and 9% for wastewater for each year from 2025 to 2029. A new Energy-wise, or time-of-day, rate, will also be proposed. With Energy-wise rates, customers pay different rates for electricity based on the time of day it is used.
The total of all proposed base rate increases is estimated to be about $14/month on the sample residential four-service bill in 2025.
If approved, this rate would eventually become the standard rate for most customers in late 2025. This rate option encourages customers to shift electric use which helps reduce high demand and the need to purchase power during periods when it is most expensive.
As for the budget, Springs Utilities said it is facing historic demand, and plans to add $3.7 billion in infrastructure during the next five years to meet regulations, support community growth and maintain system reliability. Springs Utilities said the 2025 proposed budget of $1.8 billion is 21% more than the 2024 approved budget.
The next steps are budget and rate case hearings at City Council on Oct. 22, with a final vote on Nov. 12. If approved, changes take effect Jan. 1, 2025, for base rates and Oct. 1, 2025, for Energy-wise rates.
