America’s Costly New Summer Tradition

Summer is full of traditions for American families — barbeques, vacations, beach days. But one tradition that almost no one looks forward to is the summer hike in their electricity bills just as heat waves and air conditioning season kicks in. As we have begun to see every summer now, there have been reports across the country of electricity rates being hiked for U.S. consumers.

• Colorado: “Xcel Energy’s proposed deal to raise average residential energy bills by nearly 6%
  is running into a wall of opposition from Colorado consumer and environmental groups. The
  proposed residential rate increase would be among the largest ever in the state, according
  to the Colorado Office of the Utility Consumer Advocate (UCA)…”
• Wyoming: “Rocky Mountain Power, Wyoming’s largest regulated electric utility, filed a
  request to the Wyoming Public Service Commission in May for a $71 million rate hike, which
  averages to an 8.8% increase among its 150,000 customers in the state, according to the company. For irrigators like Teichert and Jason Thornock, it’s a 37.7% increase — if state
  regulators give Rocky Mountain Power what it’s asking for. ‘It’s going to kill us,’ Thornock
  told WyoFile. ‘They’re going to make it very difficult to be a farmer in Rocky Mountain
  Power’s service area.’”
• North Carolina: “Thousands of Duke Energy customers say they’re afraid they won’t be able to pay their power bills if the North Carolina Utilities Commission approves the company’s
  request to raise home electricity rates over the next two years. The commission held its final scheduled public hearing on Duke Energy’s pending rate cases on Wednesday in Durham. Nearly 200 people rallied against the proposed increases, some speaking emotionally about not being able to afford their power bills. … Duke’s proposals would raise home electricity rates by 18% over two years…”
• Michigan: “Consumers Energy is seeking another major electric rate increase, a proposal
  that Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel says she will challenge before state regulators.
  The company filed the request last week with the Michigan Public Service Commission. It is
  seeking to raise electric rates by approximately $456 million annually. The proposal also
  includes a 12-month surcharge of $25 million, an additional $52 million over three years for
  storm restoration expenses, and an expansion of a cost recovery mechanism approved in its