Public Service Commission Approves Cheyenne Light Rate Increase

The Wyoming Public Service Commission approved settlement agreements among Cheyenne Light, Fuel & Power, the Wyoming Office of Consumer Advocate and intervening parties to implement new rates for electric and natural gas service beginning Oct. 1.

Spokesperson Sharon Fain said the rate increase will allow Cheyenne Light to recover costs and infrastructure investments made on behalf of the utility’s 41,000 electric and 35,000 natural gas customers in the Cheyenne region, including investments made to comply with escalating state and federal environmental regulations.

The increase for the average Cheyenne Light residential electric customer using 640 kilowatt hours of electricity per billing period is estimated to be $8.88 a month; the increase for natural gas service to the average residential customer using six dekatherms of gas per month will be $1.57. The increase varies for commercial and industrial customers, based on rate class, load factors and total usage.

The PSC approval will also allow Cheyenne Light a return on its investment in the 132-megawatt Cheyenne Prairie Generating Station in Cheyenne, which is the first energy-efficient, natural gas-fired, combined-cycle power plant in Wyoming. It produces relatively low air emissions and can quickly be called upon to supplement the availability of wind power, making it an effective solution to increasingly strict Environmental Protection Agency air emission standards.

Fain said customers can find ways to save money by saving energy with rebates and energy efficiency tips at www.cheyennelight.com.