City asks state to approve electric rate increase over transmission costs

The City of Torrington has asked the Wyoming Public Service Commission to approve a temporary electric rate increase starting Nov. 1 to cover a steep jump in transmission costs that city officials still cannot fully explain.

The city filed an Application for Interim Power Cost Adjustment with the commission Sept. 30. If approved by the City Council and the commission, the request would raise the power cost adjustment on customer bills from about 0.76 cents to about 2.49 cents per kilowatt-hour — an increase of about 1.73 cents per kilowatt-hour, both inside and outside city limits.