Rate Increase in Effect February 1, 2024

At their November 29 meeting in Silver Cliff, the Sangre de Cristo Board of Directors voted to raise rates effective February 1, 2024 — the first general rate increase enacted at the electric cooperative since 2017. Numerous factors contributed to the board’s approval of the recommendation of a general rate increase, including inflation, supply chain challenges, and increased rates from Sangre de Cristo Electric Association’s (SDCEA) power supplier. Members will see these new charges on the bill they receive in March.

“After conducting a thorough analysis of our 2024 budgeted costs versus projected revenue for 2024, SDCEA has determined that our current rates are insufficient to meet the debt convenience requirements set by our lender,” SDCEA CEO Gary Kelly said. “It has become evident that we can no longer ignore these impacts and must implement a general rate increase.”

For the average residential consumer, this could result in a monthly bill increase of approximately $5 to $9 in 2024. The rate increase will raise the monthly service availability charge for general service residential members from $31.83 per month to $35.01 a month and the energy rate from $0.12944 per kilowatt-hour to $0.13485 per kWh.

Current and proposed rate schedules are posted for review here.

A link to frequently asked questions about the rate increase are located here.