City council gave final approval to the Colorado Springs Utilities pricing plan this week. It includes new requirements for larger load users — like data centers.
Customers that use over 10 megawatts of electricity — enough to power a small city — will need to enter a 10-year contract with collateral, and be solely responsible for infrastructure and other costs for supplying the extra power to the user. The change is aimed at protecting customers from the extra cost associated with massive power consumers.
The new regulations also set minimum monthly bill requirements for large load users, with newly implemented late payment fees.
Some utility companies in the U.S. have expanded infrastructure to support larger load users and passed those costs onto customers, according to a recent report from the Pew Center. But CSU, which is a city-owned utility and the council is the utility's board, wanted to buffer the average customer.
The 2026 plan had originally included a rate increase for solar users, but that was dropped from the plan after a 7-hour public hearing where many solar users objected to the rate increase. The utility said it plans to bring a similar proposal forward next year for solar users.
There will be a 7 percent increase for regular utility customers this year as part of a plan approved last year.
