Fort Collins Utilities electric and water rates are going up again in 2024

Rebecca Powell, Fort Collins Coloradoan
Updated ·3 min read

Fort Collins Utilities customers will pay 4.3% more next year for the four electricity and water services the utility provides.

Depending on the utility, rates will increase between 3% to 5% each. In 2023, customers saw their rates increase by the same amount.

Read on to find out how the rate increase might affect your bill. But first, why are they raising rates? Some of the reasons behind the increases are, according to Utilities staff:

  • Platte River Power Authority, which provides power to Fort Collins Utilities, is increasing its wholesale prices by 5%. The increase is also intended to cover distribution operating and maintenance costs and capital projects, according to documents provided by Utilities staff. Two-thirds of costs are wholesale expenses, with the rest going to operating and maintaining the distribution system. Capital projects include transformer replacements, street light upgrades and technology upgrades.

  • For the water fund, increases are attributed to higher costs for materials and borrowing to pay for infrastructure improvements.

  • For the wastewater fund, Utilities documents cite declining ongoing revenues for that fund, plus inflation.

  • And for stormwater, Utilities is poised to issue bonds for the Oak Street stormwater improvement project.

City Council gave initial approval to the rate increases on Tuesday night. They'll have a final vote Nov. 21.

How much are rates increasing?

Electric: 5%

Water: 4%

Wastewater: 4%

Stormwater: 3%

How much more can I expect to pay on my bill?

For an average bill:

Electric: A $4.21 monthly increase, from $84.20 to $88.42

Water: A $2.04 increase, from $51 to $53.04

Wastewater: A $1.42 increase, from $35.61 to $37.04

Stormwater: A 67-cent increase, from $22.42 to $23.09

How much are rates expected increase in future years?

The city's rate forecasts through 2032 currently show:

Electric: Increases of at least 4% each year

Water: Increases of at least 4% each year

Wastewater: Increases of at least 3% each year

Stormwater: Increases of at least 3% each year

How do costs in Fort Collins compare with others in Colorado?

A survey of electric utility providers in Colorado shows a comparison of the cost of 700 kilowatt hours among 49 different municipal, co-op and investor utilities:

Fort Collins ($89.65 monthly average) was the seventh-lowest.

The six utilities with lower costs were: Fort Morgan ($56.61), Moon Lake ($69.97), Longmont ($81.22), Gunnison ($82.97), Wray ($88.64), and nearby Poudre Valley REA ($89.41).

The five most expensive were Black Hills Energy ($145.18), Tri County ($140.43), Gunnison County EA ($127.88), High West Energy ($125.85) and San Isabel ($125.10).

Xcel was in the middle at $103.69, alongside Loveland at $103.14.

For water, wastewater and stormwater, here are comparisons of estimated average monthly bills for 2024 based on rate changes, according to information presented to City Council:

Fort Collins: $53 / $37 / $23

Longmont: $69 / $41 / $19

Loveland: $61 / $43 / $25

Greeley: $74 / $37 / $19

Colorado Springs: $97 / $31 / N/A

Boulder: $67 / $48 / $27

Do you need help paying your bill or want to reduce your costs?

You can find information about utility bill assistance programs on the Fort Collins Utilities website. On the same page, you can find information about free programs that help lower-income residents make home and appliance upgrades to reduce bills.

You can also find links to programs for everyone that provide energy and water rebates.

Editor's note: This story has been updated to note that City Council's final vote will take place Nov. 21.

This article originally appeared on Fort Collins Coloradoan: Fort Collins Utilities' electric and water rates are going up in 2024