CU floats idea of electric rate increases for next two years 

Last edited 8:56 a.m., Aug. 18, 2025 [Editor's note: An expected seasonal percentage increase has been corrected.]

City Utilities of Springfield plans to propose annual electric rate increases in its next two budget years. 

Starting in April 2027, the utility is looking at a 3% rate increase, and in April 2028, a 3.6% rate increase is planned. 

The increases would support debt service payments for new power supply resources, according to CU officials, who introduced the increases last night during a joint meeting of the CU board and Springfield City Council. 

The increase was unanimously approved by CU’s Citizen Advisory Board on Aug. 13, and last night’s meeting included a public hearing on the budget. 

The CU board’s Management & Finance Committee will take up the measure at its Aug. 19 meeting, followed by a board vote scheduled Aug. 21. The legislation would then go before council, with a first reading and public hearing set for Sept. 8 and a vote Sept. 22. 

Austin Beshears, CU’s director of rates and fuels, compared Springfield to a group of council-recognized benchmark cities to show that the Queen City has the lowest monthly residential electric rate of the group at $103.06.  

Following Springfield are Huntsville, Alabama, at $105.51; Chattanooga, Tennessee, at $110.91; and Knoxville, Tennessee, at $117.34 – all notably municipal utilities, like Springfield.  

These are followed by cities with investor-owned utilities: Salt Lake City, Utah; Waco, Texas; Wichita Falls, Texas; Columbia, South Carolina; Fort Wayne, Indiana; Columbus, Georgia; Savannah, Georgia; Kalamazoo, Michigan; Grand Rapids, Michigan; and Evansville, Indiana. Monthly electric rates for these range $118.69 in Salt Lake City to $173.53 in Evansville. 

Beshears also reported on the impact to commercial customers and showed that they would vary by rate class, usage and load factor. 

For increases over the two-year period, a 50-kW case was the example given, with one having a 25% load factor using up to 9,100 kWh per month would experience a 7.2% increase. One with a 50% load factor using up to 18,300 kWh per month would have a 5.9% increase. One with a 75% load factor using up to 27,400 kWh per month would have a 5.1% increase. 

The typical nonresidential customer, at 31 kW with a 33% load factor and using up to 7,400 kWh per month, would go from a monthly bill of $960.98 in April 2026 to $1,027.23 in April 2028, for a $66.25 or 6.9% impact. 

For typical residential customers, that two-year increase varies by season. Rates for fall, October to November, when 725 kWh is used, the impact would be about $6.60 per month, or 7.2%. In winter, December to March, when 900 kWh is used, the impact would be $8.19 per month, or 7.4%. For spring, April to May, when 625 kWh is used, the impact would be $5.69, or 7.1%, and for summer, June to September, when 1,100 is used, the impact would be $12.53, or 8.5%.  

A residential customer using 900 kWh a month, regardless of season, would rise from $113.52 in April 2026 to $122.27 in April 2028, an impact of $8.75 or 7.7%. 

Under Board of Public Utilities policy, utility rates should be simple and understandable, acceptable to the public, feasible to implement and definite and clear regarding their application. CU’s Citizen Advisory Council analyzes proposed rate increases’ adherence to these standards, according to Beshears.