Customers of Tucson Electric Power Co. can voice their opinions about the utility's request for new rates that would boost monthly home bills by 12% as formal hearings kick off Wednesday in Tucson.
The Arizona Corporation Commission will wrap up a series of public-comment meetings on TEP's rate case with an in-person session, and a phone-in option, at 10 a.m. Wednesday, March 29, at the commission’s Tucson office at 400 W. Congress, Room 222.
Public, evidentiary hearings on the TEP rate case also are scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. Wednesday in the same room, with testimony before an ACC administrative law judge expected to start following public comment.
The public-comment hearing will be available by phone at 1-888-450-5996, and the passcode to speak is 457395#.
Wednesday's proceedings, as well as subsequent hearings scheduled to run through mid-April, will be webcast live at azcc.gov/live.
Comments may be submitted any time online at tucne.ws/utilcomment.
TEP has filed a rate request with the Arizona Corporation Commission that would increase the average monthly bills of typical residential customers on the company’s most basic rate plan by about 12%, or about $14 over current levels starting in September.
An ACC administrative law judge will hear the testimony from the company, commission staff and intervening parties and issue a recommended rate order and opinion this summer for final consideration by the full commission.
The commission’s Utilities Division in initial filed testimony has recommended a smaller rate increase that would raise average home bills 6.7%, or $8.18, per month for the typical home customer on TEP’s most basic rate plan.
TEP, which serves about 400,000 customers in the Tucson metro area, says it needs the increase to recoup its costs for new infrastructure, including new renewable-energy plants, to cover higher fuel costs and to recover more fixed costs from usage-based rates as each customer uses less energy.
Under the company’s rate proposal, the basic monthly service charge customers pay regardless of usage would increase $2 for most residential rate plans, from $13 to $15 for the most popular basic rate.
The commission staff supports TEP’s proposed $2 increase to the basic monthly charge, but the Residential Utility Consumer Office, a state agency representing consumers in rate cases, has recommended an increase of just 31 cents.
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