Utilities

From Sustaining Jackson Hole Wiki

Jackson Hole enjoys some of the lowest electricity rates in the country. In 2005, residential customers in Jackson Hole paid 5.7 cents per kilowatt hour, compared to the national average of 8.41 cents. (See table 11-3.)

These rates are the result of a contract Lower Valley Energy, the local energy provider, negotiated with the Bonneville Power Administration in 1996, which locked in rates for 10 years. As such, Lower Valley’s residential rates haven’t increased in the last 9 years. Rates in nearby western communities are substantially higher. For example, in Cheyenne, power customers paid 10.8 cents per kilowatt hour in 2002. In Denver, CO, residents paid a little more than 7 cents per kilowatt hour in 2002. Lower Valley Energy is currently pursuing options for purchasing electricity when that contract expires, though rates are expected to rise substantially.

Natural gas rates, on the other hand, are higher in Jackson than the national average. Residential customers here pay $1.22 cents per therm, compared to 65.6 cents nationally. Lower Valley Energy is in the early stages of planning for a natural gas pipeline into Jackson Hole. Currently, it requires 600 trucks a year driving into the valley to meet demand.

It is much more difficult to obtain national rates for telephone and cable television service. However, in the last ten years, Qwest residential telephone service customers have seen their basic rates increase 58 percent for service in the Town of Jackson and 183 percent for service in more outlying parts of Teton County. (See table 11-4.)

Sources: Lower Valley Energy, AT&T Broadband, Wyoming Public Service Commission, national statistics from the West Virginia Public Service Commission