Rate increases for Tucson Electric Power and Trico Electric Cooperative customers will be considered by the Arizona Corporation Commission at an open meeting Wednesday morning in Tucson.
The commission is expected to decide how much revenue TEP and Trico can collect, including general monthly charges and basic rates.
Reimbursements for solar customers will be addressed after hearings tentatively scheduled for this summer.
Among the changes it is seeking, TEP wants to add optional βdemand rates,β which are based partly on a customerβs period of peak usage, and it wants to raise basic monthly charges, including an increase to $15 from $10 for residential customers on the standard rate.
Wednesday's hearing is at 10 a.m. in room 128 of the state building at 400 W. Congress.
Some consumer advocates vehemently oppose demand rates, which are common for business-class rates but rarely used in residential rates. They contend demand rates are confusing and could cause bills to skyrocket because of one surge of unusually high demand.
TEPβs proposal would boost the average home customerβs bill by $8.41 per month in the winter and $7.79 in the summer, according to commission filings.
TEP also has proposed new time-of-use rates, with a basic monthly charge of $12 and including optional, three-part rates that include a demand charge based on a period of peak monthly usage.
The state Residential Utility Consumer Office and a commission hearing judge has recommended the basic monthly rate be set at $13 for the standard home rate plan and $10 for those on time-of-use rates.
For business customers, TEP is proposing a new βmedium general serviceβ rate class, between its current small and large general-service rates, which include demand charges.
The new rate would include a $40 basic monthly charge, compared with the current $15.50 for small general service, but TEP says some high-load customers could save money on the new medium-service rate.
In Tricoβs rate case, a proposed settlement would boost basic monthly charges 60 percent for home customers to $24 from $15, but with lower usage-based energy charges it would add an estimated $2 to the average monthly bill.
Trico also has proposed instituting a new three-part demand rate, with a demand charge of zero, to educate people about demand rates.
A commission hearing judge has recommended against adopting the educational demand rate but has endorsed other terms of the settlement.
Trico serves about 38,000 customers in northwest Tucson, Marana, Corona de Tucson, Sahuarita, Green Valley, Three Points and Arivaca.
