The new varying time-of-day rates for Colorado Springs Utilities customers will begin rolling out across Colorado Springs in October. Residents who use home solar panels could see a new fee to mirror the impacts in 2027.

Utilities staff proposed the new “demand charge” for net metering customers as part of the rate package at the Utilities Board meetings last week. If approved by the City Council, the charge could increase electricity bills by around $50 per month for more than 9,000 customers who use the renewable solar program.

CSU Chief Financial Officer Tristan Gearhart said the charge was meant to balance out the discounts offered by net metering with the effort to encourage residents to change when they use the most power.

“What makes sense on our side is it encourages behavior during that peak period that we are asking of the rest of our customers through the time-of-day rates,” Gearhart said.

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Solar customers and installers said they felt surprised and singled out when they found out about the proposal. Art Wickberg, who installed solar panels at his home around 2012, said he felt the charge went against the benefits of home solar that Utilities had advertised for years.

“I do not understand for the life of me why I am being charged more when I am providing power for the grid and not just using it,” Wickberg said.

Through the net metering program, Utilities receives the excess power generated by home solar panels in a given month. Customers are paid for the power through annual credits that knock down the cost of their monthly electrical bill. Over several years, the amount saved on power bills can offset the major initial cost of having the panels installed.

Solar customer Nancy Stillwagon said that her home panels produced around 730 kilowatt-hours of electricity, according to her Utilities bill. Her home used less than a third of the power and she received credit for more than 500 kilowatts.

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“I’m paying less than $17 a month during the summer and they want to increase it by that much. That is ridiculous,” Stillwagon said.

The utility reimburses residents around 12 cents per kilowatt-hour, which Gearhart said was several times more than Utilities would pay for other power sources. Residents pay Utilities an access fee for the connection.

At the Utilities Board meeting on Aug. 20, staff said the growing use of the net metering program was leading to “major underbilling” for solar customers. Pricing and rates manager Scott Shirola estimated that the net metering customers pay a combined $5 million less than other customers.

Solar panels tend to be the most effective at generating power in the morning and early afternoon. During the peak use hours of 5-9 p.m., the time the Energy Wise rates will be highest for other customers, the solar panels often produce little or no electricity, adding to the demand of the city’s overall power grid during its most expensive time.

“When the panels stop producing and the costs are still high for generating power, we are paying a high price to replace it,” Gearhart said.

The new demand charge would be issued based on the highest 15-minute stretch of power demand during those peak evening hours. The setup means that net metering customers can save money in the same way as other Colorado Springs residents could through Energy Wise: doing less during the peak hours.

The Utilities Board of Directors, who are also the City Council members, were divided on changing the net metering program. Brandy Williams and Nancy Henjum voted against advancing the overall rate case because of concerns about the new charge.

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Williams said Utilities had promoted and marketed the net metering program for years to residents. Williams said enacting the new charge now left a limited time to talk to residents before Sept. 9, when the city would begin limiting ex parte conversations before the October City Council meetings.

“I don’t think 20 days of notice is sufficient for the public when we have spent 15 years putting that in place,” Williams said.

Colorado Springs Utilities announced last year that it would begin switching customers to rates that varied the cost depending on the time of day. The Energy Wise rates, which will begin taking effect in October, would reduce electricity rates in some hours and dramatically increase them during the peak evening hours.

Gearhart said the rate change was not about increasing revenue but to encourage people to spread out their electricity usage throughout the day. The net metering charge was meant to achieve the same thing.

Gearhart and Shirola said there would be extensive public comment at the October meeting. Utilities has already begun messaging the new charge, sending emails to net metering customers about the charge last week and adding a page to the facility website.

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The rate package and the 2026 Utilities budget were approved by the board 7-2. The Utilities funding will receive a public hearing at the Oct. 14 City Council meeting.

Triton Roofing and Solar is a Colorado Springs business that has been installing solar panels since 2012. Owner Todd Dorpinghaus said the proposal would affect the company’s business and his home, where he’s added solar panels.

“It makes it much harder to justify why I switched to solar if I’m still going to pay $80 per month in my electricity bill,” Dorpinghaus said.

Solar technician Courtney Grant said the company had already received a surge in calls from customers trying to have panels installed before the federal tax credit went away at the end of the year. The proposed demand charge had driven a new series of angry calls and emails.

Grant said one option to reduce the charge is for homeowners to connect the solar panels to batteries. The batteries would store excess power instead of sending it to Utilities and could be used to power the home during peak hours.

The catch is the price. Large home batteries can cost well over $20,000 to install, which Grant said delays the return on investment that solar customers are often looking for.

“There are better ways to get that conservation that benefits the city and the customers. They can make this so it doesn’t penalize renewable customers so much,” Grant said.

Gearhart said the credits Utilities provided for solar generation would not be affected. Utilities’ website about net metering said the new charge is “continuing to support solar adoption.”

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