On Wednesday, May 24, we hosted a public comment session at our Glenwood Springs headquarters for the Board to listen to member feedback related to the proposed rate and tariff changes. The recording of the meeting is available here.
We at Holy Cross Energy (HCE) 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 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. As you hopefully saw in the March HCE Newsletter, we are restructuring our current rate design. We do not want these changes to impact your return on that investment, so we are offering two rate options to help our legacy solar owners.
Traditionally, we have combined the cost of energy and the cost of maintaining our electric grid (the poles and wires) into one fee called the “Energy Charge” on your bill. This worked well for many, many years, but now that our members are asking for new and innovative programs and services and the grid is changing, we need to split those charges into separate Energy and Delivery Charges. These changes mean your bill will increase as the Delivery Charge will be applied to the energy you use from your kWh bank and the energy you purchase from HCE.
But because you have made a substantial investment to help us reach our clean energy goals, we want to minimize any financial impact on you.
It is important to know that even with these allowances, all members will see an increase in their bill simply because costs have increased. Even with these changes, our rates will continue to be in the bottom third of all Colorado utility bills.
Thank you for your participation in Renewable Energy Net Metering. We value you and your commitment to clean energy and the environment.
More information will be provided soon for solar net metering members that have already submitted a rate selection.
The true value of your solar investment comes from you using the energy your system produces. Remember you never pay HCE anything for what you self-consume!
Store more of the solar energy you generate with a Tesla Powerwall.
Under the new rate structure, avoiding high energy usage during Peak Demand is an easy way to keep your bill low.
Starting in September, payback amounts increase 50%
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:
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.
Optional Time of Day Rate – Starting September 2023
Peak Hours: 4:00 pm – 9:00 pm
7 Days a Week
Membership Fee | $16.00 / month |
Delivery Charge – Off Peak | $0.022 / kWh |
Delivery Charge – On Peak | $0.088 / kWh |
Energy Charge – Off Peak | $0.041 / kWh |
Energy Charge – On Peak | $0.163 / kWh |
WeCARE Fee | 2% |
Peak Demand Charge | None |
On-Peak Total | $0.251 / kWh |
Off-Peak Total | $0.063 / kWh |
The complete Colorado net metering law language can be found here on the state of Colorado website.
To minimize the financial impact of the split delivery charge, we are offering our net metering members two rate options.
HCE held a comment period from March 1 – May 15 for members and stakeholders to offer feedback.
HCE also held a public comment session on May 24. View recording of that event here.
The full official proposed changes to the HCE Electric Service Tariffs, Rules, and Regulations is available here.
You’ll need the following numbers from your bill to enter into the calculator:
The calculator below can help you compare what a typical bill might look like under Option 1 or Option 2.
Grab a previous month’s bill to get started.
Not a solar net metering member? You can compare your bills here.
Tips for successfully comparing the new rate options: