Torrington residents could see higher electric bills as soon as Nov. 1 if the City Council votes Tuesday to pass along to consumers a sudden jump in transmission costs the city says no one has fully explained.
The jump comes after the transmission portion of the city's wholesale power bill rose 189% in June 2026 compared to June 2025, which the city figures will cost about $800,000 more a year.
Chandler Jones, owner of Heartland Embroidery, told Cowboy State Daily her store’s power bill has been twice as high as it usually is for the past two month. She said she’s had to put off other expenses just to cover it.
“We had the best intentions of getting new lights before the summer was up,” Jones said. “But you can’t do it when you’re paying $700-800 for an electricity bill.”
Jones said the city called her in July to report record-high usage at her shop. Surprised, she checked for broken equipment but found nothing out of the ordinary.
In fact, she expected her usage to drop because her air conditioner was broken for half the month, her business hours hadn't changed, and she turns off the breakers every night at closing.
“What else do I do besides pay it and suck it up,” Jones said. “Which I know a lot of people can’t do because we live in a community of a lot of people on fixed incomes. I can’t imagine what they’re going through right now.”
The city said in an earlier statement the increase hasn't yet led to a rate increase for customers. But Jones is one of several Torrington locals reporting a sudden spike in their bills without a sudden increase in usage.
“They’re telling us it’s on us,” Jones said. “It’s our fault for using so much — that’s why our bill is so high.”
‘Unpleasant Surprise’
Torrington Mayor Herb Doby told Cowboy State Daily the city was also shocked when it was notified of the “drastic increase” in July.
“Frankly, this was an unpleasant surprise to all of us,” Doby said.
In a Sept. 30 statement, the city said it filed a formal dispute with its wholesale provider, the Municipal Energy Agency of Nebraska, to get to the bottom of the spike.
In the meantime, Doby said the city has two options for how to cover the added cost.
“If this rate increase holds, it will be paid either through the ratepayers, which is standard practice,” Doby said, “or it will be paid by drawing on our electric reserve fund.”
While Doby acknowledged the burden on ratepayers, he said that city reserves are set aside strictly for urgent and expensive emergencies.
“Like if a transformer goes out and it takes a million dollars to replace that,” he said.
To handle the rate hike, he recommended requesting an interim power cost adjustment from the Wyoming Public Service Commission, which would allow the city to pass the higher rates on to consumers.
At its regular Tuesday meeting, the Torrington City Council will have a public hearing and then vote on whether to approve the application.
“Whoever wants to come is more than welcome to come,” Doby said. “Council will listen to them and take their questions and concerns. We are trying to make this thing as public as we can.”
‘Stomach-Turning Moment’
Breann Garhart, who grew up in Torrington and still lives there, told Cowboy State Daily she thinks the best move is for the city to cover the increase with the reserve fund.
“I don’t see how we as citizens of Torrington should be responsible for the increase,” Garhart said. “The price of things in our small community already takes a toll in the citizens. Why make things harder for those already struggling when the town has an alternative and can use the reserve fund.”
When she opened her August bill, Garhart said she did a double-take. It was nearly $400, about double what she typically pays.
“I was in disbelief,” Garhart said. “It was a stomach-turning moment for sure.”
During that month, Garhart said she was only home for two weeks. Even then, she said she’s always “adamant” about turning off the lights and air conditioning when not in use.
Garhart said she immediately thought about how it must be hitting the rest of the community.
“Torrington, Wyoming, isn’t a town that has an endless amount of good-paying jobs,” Garhart said. “There are a very select few. There are individuals in this town that already require assistance and now they have to worry about how they’re going to afford the next bill they get.”
Doby said the economic struggles are not lost on him.
“Everybody is hurting from inflation in general,” Doby said. “We live in an agricultural community. We are suffering a drought this year. We have fuel prices that are sky-high for gas and diesel, and diesel is a big expense to our ag producers. I understand that our ratepayers are having a rough year.”
While Garhart said Torrington residents are upset, Doby said he hasn’t been contacted by any unhappy constituents directly.
“I know that when we have our press releases go out they’re put on Facebook and there’s a lot of comment on Facebook about it,” Doby said. “But I haven’t had anybody want to meet with me directly or meet with me.”
Reason Still Unknown
The city previously noted the increase occurred after the region switched transmission providers from the Western Area Power Administration to the Southwest Power Pool.
Doby said MEAN’s parent company has reached out to SPP for an explanation about whether the shift triggered the hike, but he has yet to hear back.
The parent company, NMPP Energy, did not respond to Cowboy State Daily by publication.
Meanwhile, SPP communications supervisor Jennelle Primm previously told Cowboy State Daily in an email that SPP only manages the regional grid and wholesale market.
"Decisions about how retail customers are billed for their electricity usage are made entirely outside of SPP's authority," Primm said.
While the reason for the spike is still unknown, Torrington isn't facing it alone.
Doby said 21 communities have been affected, and city leaders will meet with them and MEAN staff on Oct. 8 to share concerns and ask questions. MEAN serves 60 communities across four states, including Torrington and Basin in Wyoming.
Emma Jane Jackson can be reached at emma@cowboystatedaily.com.
