Raton Public Service Rate Increase
Customers will soon begin seeing increased purchased power fees on their utility bills.
Press Release from Raton Public Service Company General Manager, Glenn Fisher:
To the Ratepayers of the Raton Public Service Company:
As you know, the cost of electricity has been slowly creeping up over the past two years. The reason is the cost of purchasing wholesale energy to supply our ratepayers. RPS is contractually obligated to purchase this wholesale energy from the Arkansas River Power Authority (ARPA). The fuel and purchased power line on your bill is a pass through charge based on the cost of energy purchased from ARPA.
Recently, ARPA adjusted the wholesale energy rate charged to its members, including Raton, to begin recovering the costs associated with the Lamar Repowering Project. As a result, RPS had to adjust the fuel and purchased power charge from 7.2 cents to 9.1 cents per kilowatt-hour (KWh).
What does this mean to you? For a home using 500 KWh of energy per month, your bill will increase approximately $9.50 per month (500 KWh x $0.019 per KWh increase) or $114.00 per year over the July 2009 rate. If you use 1,000 KWh per month, you will see a $19.00 per month or $228.00 per year increase in your electric bill.
For commercial and large light and power customers, a business using 5,000 KWh per month will see an increase of roughly $95.00 per month or $1,140.00 per year. Using 30,000 KWh will mean an increase of approximately $570.00 per month or $6,840.00 per year.
We at RPS do understand the burden this increase will place on homeowners and businesses in Raton. While our options are limited due to current contractual obligations, RPS will do everything it can to help keep the cost of your electricity down.
Please feel free to call our office at (575) 445 9861 if you have any questions.
Glenn Fisher
General Manager
The Raton Public Service Company
