EL PASO, TEXAS (KFOX14/CBS4) — Customers packed a West El Paso community meeting Thursday night seeking answers about higher electric bills, with several residents saying the increases caught them off guard and are putting additional pressure on household budgets.
El Paso Electric President and CEO Kelly Tomblin attended the meeting at the Westside Regional Command Center, hosted by El Paso City Rep. Alejandra Chávez. Residents questioned Tomblin about rising summer costs, the utility’s rate structure and what help is available for people struggling to pay.
Arturo Villarreal said his monthly bill increased from about $150 to $258.
“The rates of my electricity went way up,” Villarreal said. “It came up all of a sudden. I said, ‘Oh my goodness.’ I almost had a heart attack.”
Jordan Salas reports on West El Paso residents press El Paso Electric CEO on summer bill hikes (Credit: KFOX14)
Other residents raised concerns about what an unexpected increase can mean for customers on fixed incomes. One attendee said higher electric costs can force people to cut back in other parts of their budget.
Some customers said they still wanted more detailed, one-on-one information after the meeting, particularly about how their individual bills were calculated and whether they qualified for programs that could lower or stabilize their monthly payments.
Tomblin said the increase many customers noticed was caused by several factors hitting bills around the same time.
A fuel refund customers had been receiving expired, new rates took effect June 1 and customers entered El Paso Electric’s higher summer pricing period. Under the summer rate structure, the price increases after a residential customer uses more than 600 kilowatt-hours.
Tomblin also said electricity use rises significantly during the summer and that 17 days in June were hotter than the same days last year.
“We got higher rates and the fuel refund went away, and that happened all at once in the same month,” Tomblin said. “And we probably should’ve been out here earlier.”
Tomblin said summer electricity costs are higher because the utility must rely on less-efficient facilities and gas turbines to meet peak demand. She said the system must be built to handle the highest periods of use, even though that level of demand does not continue throughout the entire year.
The explanation did not end every concern in the room. Some residents said they came specifically to understand their bills and became frustrated when portions of the discussion shifted to other issues, including the Meta data center. One attendee described the interruption as taking the meeting away from the bill discussion residents had expected.
Tomblin said El Paso Electric offers several programs intended to help customers manage their costs, including balanced billing, energy-efficiency programs, time-of-use rates and assistance through its Bright Hearts Fund.
Balanced billing spreads payments more evenly throughout the year, reducing the difference between lower winter bills and higher summer bills. Tomblin said the company has not seen as large an increase in assistance-program enrollment as some might expect, but said customer service representatives are available to help people review their options.
She also encouraged customers to monitor their daily electricity use through the El Paso Electric app. Tomblin said changes at home, including children returning from school or more people being inside during the summer, can increase consumption before customers realize it.
Tomblin said El Paso Electric wants to help customers identify available assistance and find ways to better manage their usage.
“Come talk to us,” Tomblin said. “We do have ways to help, and we want to help.”
Tomblin said the utility is trying to balance affordability with reliability and the need to prepare the electric system for future growth.
“We’re trying to build a system. We’re trying to keep you safe, we’re trying to keep you in power, and we’re trying to grow the economy at the same time, giving you a reasonable bill,” Tomblin said.
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