SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. – Liberty Utilities’ General Rate Case (GRC) is yet another in a series of increasing hikes in the electricity bills of residents and businesses around the Basin. Liberty says these increases are due to wildfire mitigation and rising insurances—but customers and groups are already requesting involvement in discussions with Liberty and the California Public Utilities Commissions (CPUC) to combat these changes.

Liberty Utilities, also known as CalPeco Electric, is the sole supplier of power in the Tahoe Basin for the California side. The last time Liberty filed its GRC was in 2022, as the CPUC requires Liberty to file a GRC every three years. Previously, the CPUC approved a rate increase for Liberty to recover costs of wildfire mitigation work prior to 2022, along with other costs in their Catastrophic Expense Memorandum Account.

This GRC, which was filed on September 20 last year, requested an overall revenue increase of 19.1% by January 1 of this year.

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The company is making two major changes in their rate case—combining the permanent and seasonal residential classes and increasing their rates.

The residential classes have been historically split, and charges are typically higher for residents who are non-permanent, meaning they are living in their homes fewer than 183 days a year. But combining the classes would raise the base rates of permanent residential customers from $13.83 to $41.40.

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According to Kurt Althof, manager of regional communications, “The proposal is driven by the CPUC’s income-graduated fixed charges rulemaking, which allows for higher fixed charges to include costs that do not differ based on electricity usage.  A higher fixed charge will be offset by a lower variable charge. The higher fixed charge will allow for all customers to pay their fair share of fixed charges, such as wildfire mitigation and vegetation management, which benefits all customers.”

Wildfire mitigation is one of the main reasons for Liberty’s rate increases, especially because so much of the Basin is considered high fire risk. Althof said, “The majority of the rate increase is related to preventing wildfires, responding to wildfires, improving the resiliency of the system should a wildfire occur, and recovery of the system and service after a wildfire has occurred.”

Their GRC states that approximately 60% of the requested revenue increase is directly related to wildfire insurance cost increases, which have jumped to a forecasted $31.706 million for 2025. Currently, Liberty is only authorized to recover a fraction of that, at $7.962 million.

The proceedings for the case now concern the inputs of Liberty Utilities, Cal Advocates, Tahoe Energy Ratepayers Group, Small Business Utility Advocates, The Utility Reform Network, and the A-3 Customer Coalition, which includes the South Tahoe Public Utility District (STPUD) and Heavenly Mountain Resort, along with other large commercial customers.

General rate cases don’t always result in the request being fulfilled in its entirety—the CPUC halved the previous rate increase requested in 2022. But testimony from these groups will help decide whether the increase is just and reasonable, if the increased fixed charge and class combination is reasonable, and if its application is consistent with goals, objectives, and action items included in the CPUC’s environmental and social justice action plan. The previous 2022 GRC was decided with an all-party settlement.

For the A-3 Customer Coalition, Liberty has proposed a rate increase of 30%. STPUD regularly treats wastewater and pumps water over Luther Pass to comply with the Porter-Cologne Act, making them one of Liberty’s largest energy customers. Shelly Thomsen, director of public and legislative affairs for STPUD, said “The proposed rate increase would raise STPUD’s electric bills by approximately $1 million annually. Our coalition will be involved in the CPUC proceedings to make sure the cost share burden is fair and appropriately distributed among customer classes.”

Heavenly was unable to provide comment for how much energy they use or how their resorts would be impacted, but with a 30% rate increase and the energy usage of these resorts, it’s likely that those costs would be passed down to customers as well.

Earlier this month, Liberty Utilities requested interim rate recovery beginning on June 1, which they said would provide rate stability, reduce the potential for rate shock, save on interest costs, and preserve Liberty’s financial stability. While the A-3 Customer Coalition agreed that it could “result in a jarring rate increase in late 2025 or early 2026… and using interim rates to smooth out the increase resulting from this proceeding could facilitate financial planning and budgeting,” both Cal Advocates and The Utility Reform Network believe the CPUC should reject these terms.

Most public comments tend to agree. South Lake Tahoe’s residents have left almost 100 comments, detailing how the price hikes have lowered their already shaky trust in the company. During the recent strategic planning retreat, city council said that their attempts to partner with Liberty to help with pricing for the city was met with a resounding no.

Major concerns expressed in the comments include lack of communication or engagement from Liberty to customers, repeated increased price hikes outside of the GRC timelines, lack of efficiency in Liberty’s current budget, consistent outages and spotty service, and the dearth of options when Liberty is the only provider in the area. In the last 9 years, Liberty’s requests for rate increases total over 120%.

The public is encouraged to leave comments on the CPUC website on the case, which is docket number A24-09-010. Nearly 300 comments have been left as of publication. According to the agreed upon schedule by Liberty and the parties involved in the GRC, testimonies, potential hearings and briefs will occur between May to September, with a final commission decision issued by December 19. Public hearings are anticipated and further information for those will be provided by Liberty.

Eli Ramos is a reporter for Tahoe Daily Tribune. They are part of the 2024–26 cohort of California Local News Fellows through UC Berkeley.