El Paso families may soon be paying more to keep the lights on.
Just weeks after the Texas Railroad Commission approved a rate hike impacting Texas Gas Service customers, the Public Utility Commission of Texas has now approved an amended rate increase for El Paso Electric . And as you can imagine, many El Pasoans are not thrilled.
What Was Originally Proposed
El Paso Electric initially asked regulators to approve a 23% rate increase. That proposal would have raised the average residential electric bill by about $22 per month and generated roughly $93 million in additional annual revenue for the utility.
The company said the increase was necessary to recover about $1.55 billion it has invested in infrastructure since 2020 to improve reliability and support regional growth. They also requested a 10.7% return on equity.
What Was Actually Approved
During Friday’s open meeting, the Public Utility Commission amended parts of the proposal, reducing the overall increase…