State regulators approved modified rate increase

The New Mexico Public Regulation Commission (PRC) voted 3-2 Dec. 7 to approve a rate increase for Kit Carson Electric Cooperative (KCEC).

The decision came after more than 2 hours of discussion at the PRC chambers in Santa Fe. It also followed more than a year of protests from some co-op members who sought to have the co-op justify the size of the increase.

The approved rate increase represents a 15 percent increase for KCEC’s residential average residential customers. It will be about $9 a month per meter for residential customers who use around 450 kilowatt-hours a month.

For the co-op, the increase is expected to generate an additional $2,020,046 in annual revenue, compared to KCEC’s proposal for a revenue increase of $2,919,316.

For more on this story, see the Dec. 15 edition of The Taos News.

This story has been edited to correct information about the size of the proposed rate increase.