Expect a big boost in utility bills, Boise. What two utilities just proposed
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Idaho Power seeks 13.09% increase; average homes may pay $21.66 more a month
- Intermountain Gas proposes 8.6% bump; residential bills could rise by $4.69
- PUC will review filings, assess public input and rule on rate adjustments by 2026
Boise residents could see a big increase on their monthly utility bills next year.
Idaho Power is requesting a 13.09% hike to its overall rates, according to an application the company filed with the Idaho Public Utilities Commission. The average residential customer using 900 kilowatt-hours per month would see their bill rise by about $21.66, or 17.35%.
Intermountain Gas also filed a request with the PUC to increase its base rates. Residential customers would see their monthly bills rise by about $4.69, or 11.46%, and commercial customers by $9.26, or 5.16%.
Both of the new rates would take effect in January, if approved.
The PUC will review the filings over the next several months, gather public input and decide whether to approve, reject or modify the requests.
Intermountain Gas blames growth, costs
“The main drivers of this rate request are unprecedented growth in our service area and the rising cost of doing business,” Intermountain Gas CEO Nicole Kivisto said in a news release Friday. “The rapid growth and system upgrades necessary for safety and reliability necessitate substantial capital investments.”
Intermountain Gas said its proposal was not related to changes in the cost of natural gas. Those adjustments are reflected in a separate part of the customer’s bill that fluctuates annually to account for changes in the cost of natural gas.
The company serves about 404,800 residential, commercial and industrial customers in Southern Idaho.
Intermountain Gas last filed for a base rate increase in 2022 and before that in 2016. The latest increase would raise its annual revenues by $26.5 million, or about 8.6%.
Idaho Power seeks ‘more equitable’ bills
Idaho Power’s request would increase its annual revenues by $199.1 million.
“Establishing new general rates will ensure Idaho Power covers the costs of safely and reliably providing electric service,” the company said in a news release Friday.
The company said it wants $73 million to continue operating existing energy generation plants and to install additional batteries to improve reliability and capacity. It is also asking for $53 million for grid investments, $25 million for wildfire resilience, $20 million for labor and $28 million for other spending, including on technology, vehicles and office space.
It also proposed hiking the residential service charge from $15 to $25.
The service charge is a fixed monthly charge that recovers costs that remain constant regardless of energy consumption, like investments in the service line and meter, as well as expenses related to meter reading and billing, according to the company’s website. Separately, the company files annual fixed-cost and power-cost adjustments.
Idaho Power serves more than 630,000 customers in Idaho and a portion of eastern Oregon. Its Oregon customers are not affected by the new filing.
“By implementing a higher service charge, a larger portion of a customers’ monthly bill will be collected through the fixed charge rather than the variable energy charge,” the release said. “The intent is to make fixed cost collection more equitable among residential customers.”
Idaho Power customers already saw their base rates increase in January, and the January before that. Prior to those two cases, the company last filed for a general rate hike in 2011.
