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Our rates are changing. Here’s why.

A LETTER FROM HOLY CROSS ENERGY
PRESIDENT & CEO, BRYAN HANNEGAN

Holy Cross Energy Members,  

This year marks 84 years of safe, affordable, reliable, and sustainable electric service to you, our members. Our cooperative is as strong as it ever has been. Our communities have weathered wildfires, mudslides, drought, and a pandemic in the past several years.  

We are preparing for a changing landscape. 

As we look to provide you with the best possible service now and in the future, we are preparing for and must plan to accommodate the changing landscape in which we provide electricity and services to our members.  

The intermountain region is expected to increase in population over the coming years. Innovative technology continues to push our industry forward as our members and communities ask for new energy services. There are also increased wildfire and cyber security risks. Supply chain interruptions to our standard operating equipment have meant longer lead times to ensure we have everything we need to perform our jobs safely and effectively to keep your lights on.

In the future, it will no longer be sufficient for HCE to simply provide low-cost commodity electricity; we must also maintain a world-class electricity delivery system that enables all members to generate, exchange and consume power when they want it and how they want it. This means investing in and maintaining our electric grid infrastructure to serve you regardless of where your electricity comes from: your roof, your community, or many miles away.

Therefore, our rates are changing. 

In order to maintain sufficient revenue to perform our vital functions now and in the future, we need to align our rates with our costs of service. To do so, we have created a more equitable rate structure for our entire membership. This new structure will ask each member to pay only for the energy and parts of the system they use each month. 

After thoroughly reviewing our financial outlook and undergoing a cost-of-service model analysis, the Holy Cross Energy Board of Directors approved an updated multi-year rate strategy that will be implemented on September 1, 2023. By aligning our rates with our costs now, we will be able to stave off a significant increase in the future.  

We all know that costs are rising across every part of the economy. But, through careful and thoughtful cost management, we can keep our rate increase below what we are all experiencing in other areas of our lives. On average, our rates will only increase by 2% in September. 

Based on your individual usage patterns, you may see an increase or decrease, above or below 2%. Even with these changes, our rates will continue to be in the bottom third of all Colorado utilities’ bills. More information on how our rates are changing can be found below on this page. 

What you can do now to minimize the impact. 

HCE offers a wide range of programs to help you take charge of your electric usage and manage your electricity costs. With our rate restructuring, you can save money by decreasing your use between the hours of 4 to 9 p.m. Check your SmartHub account to learn more about your usage patterns and how to begin saving now in advance of these changes.  

Another way to save on your bill is participating in Peak Time Payback (PTP). PTP rewards members for reducing electricity usage during blocks of time when we forecast the need for electricity will be higher than usual.  Since launching PTP in 2019, we have saved over $500,000 for our members and have paid participating members over $215,000. Due to this success, we will be increasing the payback rate for reducing your usage during peak time events by 50%. Click here to get more information and to enroll.

If you still have concerns about paying your bill, reach out to us to learn about our assistance programs. We can help you find out if you are qualified for bill payment assistance, upgrading to more energy efficient products and home weatherization, or participating in one of our other cost-savings programs.  

As a cooperative, our membership is strongest when members take an active role. If you would like to ask questions, offer comments, or submit complaints to our Board of Directors, please complete the form below by April 30 to submit a comment.

Why are our rates changing?

As we look to provide you with the best possible service now and in the future, we have created a more equitable rate structure for our entire membership. After thoroughly reviewing our financial outlook and undergoing a cost-of-service model analysis, our Board of Directors approved an updated multi-year rate strategy that will be implemented on September 1, 2023.

1 –

The new structure better aligns our revenue with the way costs are incurred.​​

  • This creates a more equitable cost allocation across our membership. ​​
  • By restructuring rates now, we will be able to stave off a more significant rate increase ​for our members in the future.​
  • This more equitable rate structure will have each member pay for the energy and parts of the system they use each month.

2 –

The new structure will increase our financial sustainability.​

  • The new structure will allow us to collect the necessary revenue to provide safe, secure, and reliable energy delivery to our membership regardless of the amount of energy sold.​
  • It will allow us to better manage the financial aspects of the transition to a clean energy future.​

3 –

The new structure will keep HCE’s rates competitive with other Colorado utilities.

  • Our goal is to remain in the bottom 1/3 of utility rates in the state.
  • The new structure will lower the cost of energy for members and it will add flexibility to make it easier to manage costs through electrification and demand response.

What is the new rate structure?

ENERGY

DELIVERY

PEAK
DEMAND

MEMBERSHIP

WeCARE

Energy Charge

What does this charge cover?

The actual costs for the energy we purchase for our members.

How is it calculated?

For most members, this is the total amount of kWh you use each month.

For our solar net metering members, it is your net energy usage — or the monthly difference between the electricity delivered to you from the grid and your excess generation.

What’s changing?

The Energy Charge has previously covered our costs for delivery and demand. Moving forward, the Energy Charge will move closer to reflecting the true costs of the electricity we purchase for our membership. That means we will be separating a Delivery Charge and a Peak Demand Charge into separate categories and bill line items.

Delivery Charge

What does this charge cover?

Everything it takes to deliver electricity to your home or business; including the lines, poles, and associated equipment.

How is it calculated?

All electricity delivered to you from the grid each month, measured in kWh.

For our solar net metering members, this includes energy purchased and energy pulled from your kWh bank.

What’s changing?

While this will be a new separate line item, these costs have previously been covered through the Energy Charge.

Peak Demand Charge

What does this charge cover?

The resources required to build and maintain a system that can provide our maximum capacity demands.

How is it calculated?

Your greatest monthly power use during our Peak Demand time frame (4:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m.) Measured in kW, for any 15-minute period.

What’s changing?

While this is a new standalone charge for most of our members, these costs have traditionally been included in the Energy Charge. Some members will move from a 24-hour Demand to a 4:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. Peak Demand.

Membership Fee

What does this charge cover?

Administration and overhead required, such as billing and collections, member services, and community programs.

How is it calculated?

This is a fixed monthly dollar amount to cover these consistent costs.

What’s changing?

This fixed monthly fee will increase to more accurately reflect the costs that go into this category. This was previously called the “Customer Charge” on your bill.

WeCARE Fee

What does this charge cover?

Voted on by our members, this monthly charge is used to fund energy efficiency and conservation measures as well as renewable energy generation. (With Efficiency, Conservation And Renewable Energy).

How is it calculated?

This 2% surcharge is calculated on the aggregate sum of all electrical service revenues prior to the application of any taxes and other electric rate adjustments.

What’s changing?

No changes here; WeCARE will continue to fund the same programs and services.

Electric Cost Adjustment (ECA)

What does it mean?

The Electric Cost Adjustment factor is used to achieve a uniform and consistent annual Rate of Return.

What does it cover?

The ECA factor will fluctuate monthly as actual monthly operating revenue and expenses becomes available.

What’s changing?

Our hope with the new rate structure is to avoid high ECA numbers in the coming years.

What does Peak Demand mean?

For our members who have not previously had a demand charge on their bills, here’s some additional information to help you understand what it means, how it’s displayed on your bill, and why it’s important.

Demand is a key component of future growth and a necessary investment to supply the maximum requirement of electricity by all cooperative members. This investment is recovered by allocating demand costs to each member.  

What are the new rates?

Small Residential Rates

Current Starting 9/1/23
Membership Fee $12.00 / month $16.00 / month
Energy Charge $0.112* / kWh $0.065 / kWh
Delivery Charge $0.035 / kWh
Peak Demand Charge $1.25 / kW
WeCARE Fee 2% of total bill 2% of total bill

*includes the current $.007 Electric Cost Adjustment

Large Residential Rates

Current Starting 9/1/23
Membership Fee $28.00 / month $45.00 / month
Energy Charge $0.0842 / kWh $0.045 / kWh
Delivery Charge $0.035 / kWh
Peak Demand Charge $5.32 / kW $6.00 / kW
WeCARE Fee 2% of total bill 2% of total bill

Small Commercial Rates

Current Starting 9/1/23
Membership Fee $18.00 / month $20.00 / month
Energy Charge $.1022 / kWh $0.056 / kWh
Delivery Charge $0.035 / kWh
Peak Demand Charge $2.00 / kW
WeCARE Fee 2% of total bill 2% of total bill

Large Commercial Rates

Current Starting 9/1/23
Membership Fee $28.00 / month $62.00 / month
Energy Charge $0.0802 / kWh $0.044 / kWh
Delivery Charge $0.035 / kWh
Peak Demand Charge $6.11 / kW $7.00 / kW
WeCARE Fee 2% of total bill 2% of total bill

Frequently Asked Questions

How the new structure impacts net metering solar members

As a solar net metering member, we are grateful you have committed to a clean energy future by investing in renewable energy at your home or business. This commitment helped us provide energy that was 50% renewable to all our members in 2022.

We also want to recognize that you may have made the financial decision to invest in solar panels based on a specific rate design that was in place at the time. We recognize the addition of the Delivery Charge will increase your bill over time. But because you have made a substantial investment to help us reach our clean energy goals, we want to minimize any financial impact to you, and therefore we would like to offer you two options to help hold you harmless from the impact of the Delivery Charge for the next 10 years.

What you can do to save now and in the future.

Adjust your energy behaviors from 4:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.

Under the new rate structure, avoiding high energy usage during Peak Demand is an easy way to keep your bill low.

  • Try to minimize the number of electric appliances you have on at the same time. For example, start your laundry after you’re done using your stove for the night.
  • Schedule things like EV charging, laundry, dishwashing, and heat tape to run outside of the 4:00 – 9:00 p.m. peak hours.
  • Pre-cool or pre-heat spaces in your home before peak hours.
  • Set large appliances like boilers and water heaters on timers to only run outside of peak hours.

Sign up for Peak Time Payback.

Starting in September, payback amounts increase 50%

  • Get rewarded with bill credits for reducing electricity usage during our Peak Time Payback events.
  • We calculate your average baseline usage before the event and compare it to what you actually use during the event.
  • If you reduce usage, we save money and share that savings with you!

Energy Efficiency Rebates

We’ll help with 25% of the upfront cost when you invest in qualifying high efficiency equipment for your home or business.

Our 2023 rebates allow for:

  • Up to $5,000/year for Residential Members.
  • Up to $7,500/project for Commercial Members.
  • Qualifying projects include Heat Pumps, Building Envelope & Insulation, Heat Pump Dryers & Water Heaters, Heat Tape Timers, Induction Cooktops/Ranges, Smart & Programmable Thermostats, and more.

Optional Time of Day Rate

For residential and small commercial members who are able to substantially minimize their energy usage during our Peak Demand timeframe of 4:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.

  • Time of Day rates will also move to separate Energy and Delivery Charges for both On-Peak and Off-Peak hours.
  • Since the Time of Day rate structure charges significantly higher for On-Peak hours, there is no separate Demand Charge for members who sign up for this optional program.
  • One-year minimum participation is required under this rate.
  • Power+ Participants are not eligible for Time of Day Rate.
  • To sign up, please contact our Member Services Team at (970) 945-5491.

The full official proposed changes to the HCE Electric Service Tariffs, Rules, and Regulations is available here.

Submit your comments to the HCE Board of Directors

As a cooperative, our membership is strongest when members take an active role. If you would like to ask questions, offer comments, or submit complaints to our Board of Directors, please complete the form below by April 30 to submit a comment.

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