The average Salt River Project customer will see monthly bills increase by 3.5%, or about $5.61, starting in November, and residential solar customers will see even bigger increases. SRP’s board of directors approved the changes Thursday.
SRP is not regulated by the Arizona Corporation Commission, rather, the nonprofit utility provider is run by a publicly elected board of directors. Thursday was the first time since 2019 that the board considered changes to base prices.
SRP is the largest electricity provider in the Phoenix area. To keep up with growing demand, SRP projects it will need to produce about 40% more power within the next 10 years. The new price changes will help cover those system upgrade costs.
Most customers currently pay a $20 monthly service charge in addition to charges based on power usage. Under the new plan, monthly service charges will change to a tiered rate system. Customers in apartments or condominiums will continue to pay $20 per month, customers in typical single-family homes will pay $30, and customers in very large homes will pay $40.
Other changes include two new time-of-use plans, in which participating customers will be charged more for power used during high-demand evening hours, but can save on power used from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.
“That is a really strong opportunity and price signal for people to use energy during the day when it’s primarily driven by carbon-free resources like solar, so that's a real benefit to customers,” SRP chief financial executive Brian Koch told the board during Thursday’s meeting.
According to SRP, current customers may switch to one of the new time-of-use plans in November or they may stay on their current plan until it is phased out, no later than November 2029.
The new price changes also include expanded assistance for low-income customers.
“[It] would result in a small decrease in rates for over 93% percent of our limited income customers,” Koch said.
The plan to change SRP’s prices was first announced in December. During Thursday’s meeting, some board members proposed delaying the vote to allow more time for public feedback and further analysis of the plan. But the board ultimately voted to approve the changes.
