Colorado town’s electricity rates could rise for first time in years

Residents of Fort Morgan, Colorado, have been paying extremely low electricity rates for years, however this period of good fortune may be coming to an end soon as one of the city's programs terminates, the Fort Morgan Times reports.

According to the news source, the Fort Morgan City Council fielded questions and took recommendations on Tuesday, September 18, for how to bring electricity rates back up to typical levels. Residents' energy bills have been much lower since 2011, when the city implemented a program to right earlier wrongs that had been done, and resulted in years of overpaying.

Some recommendations called for electricity rates to double, and others said they may need to rise even more. Current proposals for residential energy service suggest prices should go up nearly 69 percent to better match what neighboring residents pay.

Michael McFadden, of McFadden Consulting Group Inc., said rates should typically be renegotiated every year to account for changes in supply costs.

Rate hikes are occurring all over the country, however, in states with deregulated markets, such as Texas, Pennsylvania, Illinois and Ohio, customers have the option to shop around for retail energy providers and seek out the lowest possible cost.