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SRP announces summer rate cut
It is not often that one hears about a bill that is going down instead of up, but that is the case with Salt River Project (SRP) customers, as the utility is announcing lower rates in a temporary measure. FOX 10's Brian Webb reports.
PHOENIX - It's not often people hear that one of their bills is going down instead of up, but that is the case with Salt River Project (SRP) customers, as the utility announced it is temporarily lowering rates.
What we know:
SRP will offer a 3% discount on electricity. The firm's Board of Directors approved the rate decrease, effective for the billing cycles from May through October.
May through October are typically the hottest time of the year, and SRP is instituting the temporary rate decrease through something called the fuel and purchase power adjustment mechanism.
"This past year, we’ve seen a lower cost than we have anticipated for natural gas, for purchases that we made for power on the market," said Brandon Shoemaker of SRP. "We also had some higher sales last summer and that’s enabled us to be in a position to where we can reduce prices."
SRP is a not-for-profit serving approximately one million customers from Gilbert to Glendale, and already boasts the lowest electric prices of any major utility in the state. The last SRP rate decrease was 2.2% in 2019.
Big picture view:
SRP's decision comes at a time when gas prices are on the up, and grocery prices remain high.
Meanwhile, APS, which is the other major utility in the Phoenix area, is asking for a 14% increase, which is met with criticism from their customers and the state's Attorney General, Kris Mayes.
Why you should care:
Savings will vary from customer to customer. But the average discount should be $5.57 a month.
"First off, we did target this summer months right, it’s most beneficial for our customers to have a price reduction during those months, helps them out the most," Shoemaker said. "And so we did look at how can we help customers out the most and then reduce our prices enough so that we, the goal really is to get us back to balanced."
What People Are Saying:
"It’s a surprise of me. I’m, I’m just walking my dog and yeah, positive news, we could always positive. The world seems so chaotic right now," said SRP customer Stephen. "Probably won’t notice but like it’s still, it’s saving money so you know, good job SRP."
"Probably not monumental but definitely nice to hear and probably a wind throughout the Valley. Hopefully APS can take some of their lead there," said SRP customer Estevan.
The Source: Information for this article was gathered by FOX 10's Brian Webb.