Steady Rates
UniSource Energy Services’ electric rates have been remarkably stable over the last two decades.
Residential electric rates increased 1.9 percent per year, on average, over the previous 10 years when adjusted for inflation.
The following table shows UniSource’s historic electric rates for residential and business customers. The figures reflect the average cents per kilowatt-hour (kWh) paid by different types of customers, excluding certain surcharges. Figures from 2000-2002 reflect rates charged by Citizens Utilities, previous owner and operator of our electric utility system.
| Residential | Commercial | Industrial | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 8.19 | 8.38 | 5.92 | 7.86 |
| 2001 | 8.33 | 8.54 | 5.69 | 8.01 |
| 2002 | 9.73 | 10.47 | 8.09 | 9.56 |
| 2003 | 10.01 | 10.06 | 7.64 | 9.82 |
| 2004 | 10.12 | 10.15 | 7.33 | 9.77 |
| 2005 | 10.08 | 10.09 | 7.31 | 9.77 |
| 2006 | 10.07 | 10.04 | 7.74 | 9.79 |
| 2007 | 10.04 | 10.14 | 7.77 | 9.82 |
| 2008 | 11.21 | 11.20 | 8.96 | 10.92 |
| 2009 | 10.13 | 10.47 | 8.45 | 9.80 |
| 2010 | 9.89 | 9.79 | 8.15 | 9.32 |
| 2011 | 9.86 | 10.03 | 8.05 | 9.46 |
| 2012 | 9.25 | 9.29 | 7.47 | 9.12 |
| 2013 | 9.62 | 9.64 | 7.69 | 9.45 |
| 2014 | 10.29 | 10.21 | 8.21 | 10.02 |
| 2015 | 10.38 | 10.52 | 8.20 | 10.22 |
| 2016 | 10.79 | 10.78 | 8.34 | 10.59 |
| 2017 | 9.89 | 9.76 | 6.80 | 9.65 |
| 2018 | 9.82 | 9.56 | 6.80 | 9.56 |
| 2019 | 9.12 | 8.95 | 6.13 | 8.89 |
| 2020 | 9.82 | 9.78 | 6.60 | 9.62 |
| 2021 | 10.32 | 10.31 | 6.88 | 10.10 |
| 2022 | 11.82 | 11.95 | 8.89 | 11.71 |
| 2023 | 13.42 | 13.61 | 10.28 | 13.30 |
| 2024 | 16.00 | 15.16 | 11.82 | 15.45 |
| 2025 | 16.99 | 16.04 | 13.26 | 16.41 |
Below are the average annual rate increases per class at intervals ranging from 10 years to 25 years from 2000 to 2025.
| Annual Average Percent Change Adjusted for Inflation | ||||
| Years | Residential | Commercial | Industrial | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | 1.9% | 1.2% | 1.5% | 1.7% |
| 12 | 2.1% | 1.6% | 1.1% | 1.9% |
| 15 | 1% | 0.7% | 1.2% | 1.2% |
| 20 | 0.1% | -0.2% | 0.5% | 0.1% |
| 25 | 0.4% | 0.1% | 0.7% | 0.4% |
| Annual Average Percent Change | ||||
| Years | Residential | Commercial | Industrial | Total |
| 10 | 5.0% | 4.3% | 4.7% | 4.8% |
| 12 | 4.9% | 4.3% | 3.9% | 4.7% |
| 15 | 3.7% | 3.3% | 3.8% | 3.8% |
| 20 | 2.6% | 2.3% | 3.0% | 2.6% |
| 25 | 3.0% | 2.6% | 3.3% | 3.0% |
Our rates are updated periodically to reflect changing energy prices and other factors reflected in surcharges approved by the Arizona Corporation Commission (ACC). In some years, the ACC also approves rate increases that allow us to recover the cost of system upgrades and other investments that support safe, reliable service.
The figures above exclude taxes, local franchise fees, and certain surcharges that were introduced during the time period covered by these tables, including the Renewable Energy Standard Tariff (REST), Demand Side Management (DSM), Environmental Cost Adjustor (ECA), and Lost Fixed Cost Recovery (LFCR) charges.
Thinking About Solar?
UniSource’s historic rate stability should be an important consideration for customers who are thinking about buying or leasing a solar power system to their home or business.
To calculate potential energy cost savings from a new photovoltaic array, sales representatives from solar energy providers usually assume that our electric rates will increase a certain amount each year. If these assumptions are wrong, the estimated savings will not materialize.
Nobody knows for sure what electric service will cost in the future. But anyone considering a long-term investment in a solar power system should closely examine any assumptions about future increases against UniSource’s long history of stable electric rates.