Electric Rates - Purpose
The purpose of electric rates is to cover three main cost areas:
- the costs associated with purchasing power and transmission services from Platte River Power Authority.
- the costs associated with operating, maintaining, and upgrading the distribution system: the power lines, poles, customer service connections, meters, and street lights that make up the local electric system.
- the costs associated with customer service, billing and collection, and meter reading.
Within the rate structure, different rate groups share the total cost responsibility between the various customer classes to ensure the financial integrity of the department and the Town.
Current Electric Rates Summary (Rates effective from January 2021 until superseded)
The electric rate classes are described in detail in Appendix 1.1 of the Power and Communications Policy and Procedures.
Rate Studies
The Town of Estes Park conducts rate studies on a roughly three-year cycle to ensure continued high-quality utility services and plans for future upgrades through capital improvement projects. These studies review the cost of providing services and projected revenue - the rates customers pay. The Town's public electric utility is a cost-based entity that relies solely on user fees. Costs and revenues must be balanced to maintain operations and keep utilities in line with ever-increasing federal standards and customer needs and expectations. Rate studies ensure equitable rates among customer classes so one customer class does not subsidize another.
The current rate study was presented to the Town Board in March of 2024. Before that, the last study was completed in 2019. Customers are encouraged to attend the upcoming Town Board meetings, including electric rate discussions. Visit www.estes.org/boardsandmeetings for date confirmation and complete meeting details:
- June 25: Town Board study session to review rate study results and recommendations
- July 9: Town Board Report and Discussion
- July 23 (tentative): Town Board meeting to review draft rate plan (Public comment encouraged)
- August 13 (tentative): Final public hearing and potential adoption of new rates (Public comment encouraged)
Municipal electric utilities like the Town of Estes Park involve two major operations – electricity distribution and capital improvements to the system. The following system improvements are needed:
- Installation of tree-cable (covered conductors) in the Allenspark area and within the Estes Valley.
- Software modernization to support the transition from coal-fired to carbon-free electric generation. Visit https://www.prpa.org/der/ and https://www.prpa.org/2024irp/ for more information on this project.
- 2024 Proposed Electric Rate Changes: FAQs
1. Why does the Town have to review and increase utility rates?
To ensure continued high-quality water and electric utility services and plan for future upgrades through capital improvement projects, the Town of Estes Park periodically reviews the cost of providing services and projected revenue – the rates customers pay. An electric rate study was just completed.
The Town’s public electric utility relies solely on user fees to operate. Costs and revenues must be balanced to maintain operations, plan for critical upgrades, and keep utilities in line with ever-increasing federal standards and customer expectations. Current rates do not meet current needs.
A municipal electric utility like the Town of Estes Park involves two major operations – electricity distribution and capital improvements to the system. Upkeep of these systems is a critical part of maintaining high-quality electric service.
Another purpose of the electric rate study is to ensure equitable rates among customer classes. This helps ensure the costs to deliver electric power are equitably divided. For example, some commercial customers require much larger transformers. To provide electricity to these customers, we must increase the capacity of our distribution system. The rates are designed to account for the higher cost of providing service to customers who need more electricity.2. What upgrades are needed to the electric system?
Power and Communications maintains a list of capital improvement projects to improve service reliability and quality. Many projects replace old infrastructure with our current standards to meet today’s higher demand for electric power using more robust products.- Power and Communications will construct smart grid infrastructure in parallel with the broadband installation. Smart grid modernizes our electric grid to enable increased renewable energy resources.
- Software modernization to support the transition from coal-fired to carbon-free electric generation. Visit https://www.prpa.org/der/ and https://www.prpa.org/2024irp/ for more information on this project.
- Older power poles and overhead lines are being upgraded with insulated tree-cable to increase wildlife protection, increase power quality, and reduce power outages and wildfire risk.
- Power and Communications will continue the deployment of smart meters. More smart fuses will be installed across the electric system to increase reliability and reduce the number of power outages. Electric rates do not support Trailblazer broadband, although our smart grid system (smart fuses and smart meters) requires a fiber network. Electric rates will fund only the smart fiber portion needed for the electric system.
- Power lines in the Allenspark area of Skinner and Ski Roads will be replaced with insulated tree-cable to increase wildlife protection, increase power quality, and reduce power outages and wildfire risk.
3. How will this affect my electric bill?
How your electric bill changes depends on the final rates adopted by the Town Board. The proposed rates increase customer rates by 5% across all rate groups, effective October 2024 with additional increases in January 2025, and again in January 2026.
Customers are encouraged to review the proposed rates and determine how the rates will affect their future bills and overall expenses.
4. For more information
Please contact the Utilities Department at 970-577-3588 or ksterling@estes.org.- 2020 Electric Rate Study
2020 Electric Rate Study Final Report - prepared by New Gen Strategies & Solutions