Group wants City Council’s help to fight high electric rates

A group in Pueblo wants the City Council’s help to fight the high electricity bills in the city.

People packed the council chamber as Pueblo’s Energy Future spoke with council Monday night.

The group said electricity rates in the city are anywhere from 30 to 70 percent above the state average.

Members also said Black Hill Energy’s and the Colorado Public Utilities Commission’s policies are hitting customers hard in the pockets.

“In spite of me paying for the solar arrays on the roof of my house, my Black Hills Energy bill has only dropped to $50 a month. That’s because there are so many surcharges from so many different directions,” Sierra Club member David Cockrell said.

Last month, Black Hills said the PUC sets the electricity rates.

Council member Larry Atencio and Council president Steve Nawrocki said they would serve as liaisons between the city and the PUC.