By Rep. Harriett Hageman (via email)
Hello Sheridan County GOP, Earlier Mountain Power (RMP) submitted two rate increase requests to the Wyoming Public Service Commission (WY PSC), one for roughly 7.6% (proposed in April and implemented on an interim basis in July) and another for 21.6% (which was proposed in March and would go into effect on January 1, 2024). WY PSC is currently holding public comment hearings and will make a decision on October 25. If approved, this combined increase of about 30% will have an immediate and direct economic impact on customers. Here's WY It Matters.
Overview
On October 25, the WY PSC will decide whether to approve RMP’s 7.6% rate increase, which already took effect earlier this year, and to approve an additional 21.6% rate hike that would also eliminate RMP's cost-sharing provision, placing the full burden of cost overruns onto the consumer. When attempting to justify the requests, RMP claims that there are “extreme fluctuations in fossil fuel prices” and that it is dealing with “extreme weather.” RMP is only subject to these extreme price fluctuations because it must purchase out of market energy to fill its power shortages caused by its over-reliance on green energy production. Liberals in Washington have made it a cornerstone of their agenda to shutter our reliable energy resources in favor of unreliable "alternatives" that simply cannot meet energy demands. Having realized quite some time ago that wind and solar will never be cost effective, the new approach is to artificially increase the cost of traditional forms of energy, thereby making “renewables” appear to be economically comparable. They do so by providing astronomical financial subsidies and tax credits to the “renewables,” while shutting down traditional energy production. For example, at the very same time RMP seeks to meet energy demand, they plan to close 2,614 megawatts-worth of coal capacity over the next 10 years. RMP even recently touted its green energy federal subsidies as beneficial for its consumers, when in fact such subsidies are paid for by those same customers it now seeks to impose a 30% rate hike on. It is, in other words, a sham, to get Wyomingites to pay on both ends. If only these companies would have fought back against these terrible policies from the beginning – and admitted that they will cause wide-spread energy poverty.
WY It Matters:
This proposed rate hike will increase family electricity bills directly by hundreds of dollars per year. But this same 30% increase also applies to government entities, gas stations, hospitals, farms and ranches, mom-and-pop shops, industrial operations, and every other business served by Rocky Mountain Power. Many local businesses will likely not be able to survive such significant increases, especially given the drastic inflation caused by Biden’s policies. The only way that businesses will be able to survive is to pass on these increasing costs to you, making everything – groceries, fuel, home renovations, birthday presents, and so on – more expensive. Sadly, RMP's exorbitant rate hike and the larger green transition does not just hurt your bank account, but also our national security. Last month, Cowboy State Daily explained how this rate hike poses an existential threat to Wyoming's trona industry and could cause a wholesale shift away from domestic trona production to reliance on China. It is appalling yet unsurprising how quickly the reality of unreliable energy has been revealed. RMP's plans to continue this shift to "green" electricity sources should not only portend future price increases but serve as an omen of what a fossil fuel-less future will look like, in which energy poverty and rolling blackouts are increasingly common. RMP's growing reliance on unreliable energy showcases the fact that these energy options aren't able to handle a standard 24-hour energy load, much less the additional strain that a Wyoming winter can produce. At present, RMP is able to keep the lights on by buying reliable, fossil fuel-produced power from other companies (at elevated prices), but what happens when those companies are forced to “transition” due to the federal government’s punitive and misguided regulations? Why are we increasing our dependence on China for intermittent energy while they use reliable, affordable energy with less pollution controls? These are only two of the many reality-checking questions that should be asked as our utility bills rise and we watch American industries be kneecapped by unrealistic “climate change” policies.
What You Can Do:
1) Read my op-ed in Cowboy State Daily
2) Review additional resources from AARP Wyoming and listen to the audio recordings from WY PSC's prior hearings in Casper and Rock Springs.
3) Attend one of the WY Public Service Commission's (PSC) upcoming public comment hearings on Sept. 25 in Laramie or Oct. 12 in Casper. More details on each hearing can be found below this email's poll.
4) Call the WY PSC at 307-777-7427 or email them at wpsc_comments@wyo.gov to share your thoughts on the proposed rate hike.
5) Complete my poll below. Let me know what your thoughts on this issue are.
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What You Can Do:
WY PSC Laramie Public Comment Hearing: Mon, September 25 – 5:30 to 7:30 PM Laramie Municipal Operations Center North Platte Conference Room 4373 N. 3rd St, Laramie
WY PSC Casper Public Comment Hearing: Thu, October 12 – 5:30 to 7:30 PM Thyra Thomson State Office Building Roundhouse Conference Room #3024 444 W. Collins Drive, Casper
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Sincerely,
Rep. Harriet Hageman Member of Congress
If we let RMP do this to ANY part of our State, you bet, we (Sheridan County-MDU) will be next. PSC is appointed, NOT elected, why do they legislate? Our country is founded on capitalism, not subsidies. Real Business is not subsidized, they make it or break it by their service & demand. DC AND Wyoming needs to understand this principle (not principal).