By Aidan Mortensen | KOAL News

A month after the Utah Public Service Commission’s decision to allow Rocky Mountain Power to raise rates only 4.7%, the company stated that it was seeking to appeal the decision and seek a higher change. 

This announcement, which was first confirmed by Fox13, came following an interim hearing from the Utah State Legislature’s Interim Public Utilities, Energy and Technology Committee, during which UPSC Commission Chair Jerry Fenn explained the body’s decision. “It was unprecedented in both scope and the requested increase,” he said.

Fenn added,” We thought it was unreasonable to expect Rocky Mountain Power ratepayers in Utah to pay a higher rate.” This statement echoes the reasoning found in the Commission’s original order on the matter,” PacifiCorp paid $550 million in dividends to its parent company after it became aware of potential wildfire liability … It is unreasonable to expect RMP’s ratepayers in Utah to pay higher rates because of the wildfires in Oregon and the depletion of cash reserves by these dividend payments.”

This is the latest in a saga that began in August 2024, when RMP proposed a 30.5% rate increase. Following backlash from state leaders and customers, the proposal dropped the change to 18%. Still, the UPSC viewed this as too high, with the Commission only approving a 4.7% increase, which equates to roughly a $4.31 monthly increase to an average family’s bill.

Rocky Mountain Power President Dick Garish defended the proposed 18.1% rate change in a statement,” Everybody is facing increased costs, and there’s different drivers for that. We are going through a challenge right now with wildfire and trying to figure out how to manage that with our communities and partnering with our communities to do that. But we care about our customers. We want to provide the service, and we want to do it well, and we’re not trying to punish our customers in any way possible.”

Richfield Rep. Carl Albrecht praised Fenn for how the Commission handled the changes. “I think you have looked out for the citizens of the state in the way you deliberated this rate case. Rocky Mountain Power might not feel that way.”

RMP recently settled a similar challenge in Wyoming, with an initially requested $123.5 million increase trimmed down to $85.5 million – or roughly a 10.2% increase.