The Heber Light & Power board voted to raise rates after three hours of discussion Feb. 26.
The new electricity rates will take effect in April, increasing customers’ electric bills by 13% for 2025. Additional increases of 3.5% are expected in both 2026 and 2027.
Board members say the plan will stabilize the company, which has fallen behind the rate of inflation and the cost of providing service to the rapidly growing Heber Valley.
Charleston Mayor Brenda Christensen said she wasn’t happy about raising rates, but she felt it was necessary.
“I thought about this deeply, deeply, deeply,” she said. “People probably don’t know how many nights’ sleep we have all lost over this, because when it comes to raising a rate, some people don’t care. Some people say, ‘Doesn’t matter to me, I make $35 million a year. Why would that bother me what I pay in power rates?’ Then you’ve got these poor little widows and poor people that are living on a fixed income, that every dollar means everything to them.”
She said the larger rate increase was important now to avoid an even more dramatic change in the future.
“I feel like we have no choice, you guys,” she said. “I would love to say, you know, I think we’re wrong. But I don’t think we have a choice.”
Heber City councilmember Aaron Cheatwood agreed. He compared the plight of the power company to a boat taking on water.
“I can’t, in good conscience, be sitting as a board member here and say, no, let’s push the can down the road and hope it goes away,” he said. “Now that I know we’re taking on water, it doesn’t make any sense to me.”
He said it’s the board’s duty to ensure Heber Light & Power is financially sound and can continue to provide power and issue bonds if needed.
If the company hadn’t implemented the double-digit increase, the decision could have affected its eligibility for bond financing in future.
“Part of this is needing to remain economically viable, which means that we must maintain minimum cash reserves and ensure we are able to maintain appropriate debt coverage ratios,” he told KPCW in a statement. “I am happy to have heard additional ideas for cost savings tonight, and I am committed to exploring the ideas that will make an impact.”
Board members also committed to reassessing the rate increase plan annually, in hopes they’ll be able to make smaller adjustments in future years.
Heber Light & Power also plans to use a new time-of-use rate structure in 2026. That means electricity is more expensive at peak demand times, such as during the evenings and in hot weather.
The company’s general manager, Jason Norlen, said his team can help customers prepare for the new price structure and move their electricity use to lower-demand times of day.
“We’re here to help too. We have rebate programs,” he said. “We will help with rebates: upgrade that washer so that it can program, or upgrade that dryer so it can be programmed, rebate program to get that Nest thermostat that can be programmed.”
Heber Light & Power isn’t alone in raising rates. Rocky Mountain Power proposed an over 30% rate increase in July. It later revised its request to an 18% rate hike after pushback from customers.
Find more information about the cost-of-service study and the Heber Light & Power’s rebate program here.
