Utah electricity rates to rise come fall

Utah's Rocky Mountain Power announced on Tuesday, August 7, that its customers will pay more for electricity this fall after the company chose to raise its electricity rates by 5.64 percent, the Deseret News reports.

According to the news source, residents will begin paying more in October 2012, and by the next year, the rates will rise by another 2.89 percent. This equates to yearly bill of $875.08 for the average residential customer. The hike comes after an agreement with the Public Service Commission of Utah that will allow the utility to raise rates by $100 million in 2012 and $54 million in 2013. Rocky Mountain Power agreed to not make another raise request until at least 2014.

The company first asked for a $172 million hike, but the second agreement was suggested in an attempt to save ratepayers money.

"We think to get that certainty … is a better deal because the potential for a much higher increase was very real," Michele Beck, executive director of the Utah Office of Consumer Services, said.

When utilities raise electricity rates, residents living in markets with energy deregulation laws have the opportunity to switch to retail energy providers, which often have more competitive rates.