Connect with us

Colorado

Colorado Springs City County will vote on a proposal that could increase utility bills (again)

Published

on

Colorado Springs City County will vote on a proposal that could increase utility bills (again)


COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO)- There could soon be a spike on your Colorado Springs Utilities bill. Some residents could see a $6.47 increase per month on average, but this increase will only happen if Colorado Springs City Council approves it. 

CSU said there are multiple reasons why they’re proposing an increase in rates. One of them is because they expect natural gas prices to go up.     

The last time CSU adjusted their rate was last year, but they say they miscalculated the increase.

“Through the winter, gas prices have actually been higher than what we set that rate for. So we’ve under-recovered our fuel expense, over the winter so far,” said Scott Shirola, CSU Pricing and Rates Manager. “The second driver really is related to the expectation for natural gas prices. You know, over the next three months.”

Advertisement

Due to the severe cold weather we had in January and February natural gas prices are expected to go up in the next few months and going into summer. 

“And that colder weather and higher demand for use of natural gas has caused utilities to withdraw natural gas from storage at a higher rate. And now, as we move into the spring and summer, those utilities will need to be injecting natural gas back into storage, creating more demand,” said Shirola.

Data shows that many American households struggle to keep up with utility bills, so much so that some keep their homes at unsafe temperatures to try and get by.

‘Data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration shows that 34 million U.S. households reported having trouble paying their energy bill in 2020.

More recent data from the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE) found that about a quarter of low-income households devote at least 15% of their income to energy bills.

Advertisement

The utilities company said they understand how this increase could impact residents, which is why they have tips that could help control your natural gas bill. 

“The main tips to control cost are setting your thermostat as low as you’re comfortable, especially if you’re away or away from home or sleeping. And then other tips that are in to replace your furnace filters frequently, at least monthly, so that your equipment’s running efficiently,” said Shirola.

The new rates would be effective April 1– if approved by the Colorado Springs City Council at their March 25th meeting.



Source link

Advertisement

Colorado

Warm storm delivers modest totals to Colorado’s northern mountains

Published

on

Warm storm delivers modest totals to Colorado’s northern mountains


Arapahoe Basin Ski Area recorded 8.5 inches of snow through Friday morning.
Lucas Herbert/Arapahoe Basin Ski Area

Friday morning wrapped up a warm storm across Colorado’s northern and central mountains, bringing totals of up to 10 inches of snowfall for several resorts.

Higher elevation areas of the northern mountains — particularly those in and near Summit County and closer to the Continental Divide — received the most amount of snow, with Copper, Winter Park and Breckenridge mountains seeing among the highest totals.

Meanwhile, lower base areas and valleys received rain and cloudy skies, thanks to a warmer storm with a snow line of roughly 9,000 feet.



Earlier this week, OpenSnow meteorologists predicted the storm’s snow totals would be around 5-10 inches, closely matching actual totals for the northern mountains. The central mountains all saw less than 5 inches of snow.

Advertisement

Here’s how much snow fell between Wednesday through Friday morning for some Western Slope mountains, according to a Friday report from OpenSnow:



Aspen Mountain: 0.5 inches

Snowmass: 0.5 inches

Copper Mountain: 10 inches

Winter Park: 9 inches

Advertisement

Breckenridge Ski Resort: 9 inches

Arapahoe Basin Ski Area: 8.5 inches

Keystone Resort: 8 inches

Loveland Ski Area: 7 inches

Vail Mountain: 7 inches

Advertisement

Steamboat Resort: 6 inches

Beaver Creek: 6 inches

Irwin: 4.5 inches

Cooper Mountain: 4 inches

Sunlight: 0.5 inches

Advertisement

Friday and Saturday will be dry, while Sunday will bring northern showers. The next storms are forecast to be around March 3-4 and March 6-7, both favoring the northern mountains.





Source link

Continue Reading

Colorado

Avalanche discipline, power play falters, Central Division lead shrinks in 5-2 loss to Wild

Published

on

Avalanche discipline, power play falters, Central Division lead shrinks in 5-2 loss to Wild


The Colorado Avalanche had a chance Thursday night to regain some real separation between them and the Minnesota Wild.

It didn’t happen, and special teams were again an issue.

Minnesota’s Joel Eriksson Ek scored a pair of power-play goals, while the Avalanche took too many penalties and did not convert its chances with the extra man in a 5-2 loss at Ball Arena. The Wild scored on two of six power plays, both in the second period, then added a shorthanded goal into an empty net for good measure.

“We took six (penalties). Six is too many, especially against a power play like theirs,” Avs coach Jared Bednar said. “We had a slow start to the second and then just kind of started getting going, then took a bunch of penalties and kind of took the momentum away and swung it back in their favor again.”

Advertisement

Mackenzie Blackwood was excellent early in this contest and stopped 31 of 34 shots for the Avs in his first start since the Olympic break. Colorado, which went 0-for-3 on the power play, has not scored an extra-man goal in back-to-back games since Dec. 31 and Jan. 3. The Avs are 2-for-31 with the man advantage since Jan. 16, and at 15.1% are last in the NHL.

The Wild are now just five points behind the Avs in the Central Division, though Colorado has two games in hand. Filip Gustavsson made 44 saves for the visitors.

“I think we crated enough chances to win the hockey game,” Bednar said. “We give up the (second power-play goal) and that’s the difference in the hockey game for me. We had a chance (on the power play) … we score and it’s a tie game. We haven’t had an easy time capitalizing on some of our chances that we created in the last month.

“I’d like to see that turn around a little bit.”

Minnesota took advantage of three penalties on Colorado in a span of 53 seconds to take the lead with 2:23 left in the second period. Captain Gabe Landeskog was sent to the box for elbowing Eriksson Ek away from the play at 14:15 and Valeri Nichushkin was called for cross-checking at 15:04.

Advertisement

That gave the Wild a 5-on-3, but it went from bad to worse in a hurry for the home side. Brock Nelson won the 3-on-5 in his own end, but Brent Burns’ backhanded attempt to clear the puck out of the zone went into the stands for a delay of game.

Minnesota had a 5-on-3 for 1:56, which Colorado successfully killed off, but because Burns’ two minutes didn’t start until Landeskog’s penalty ended, there was more 5-on-4 time and Eriksson Ek scored his second of the night. The Swedish Olympian was trying to send a cross-crease pass to Kirill Kaprizov, but it hit the inside of Blackwood’s right leg and pinballed across the goal line.

Because of the extended penalty time, both Eriksson Ek and Boldy officially logged a shift of more than four minutes, leading to that goal.

“I’m not a big fan of the penalties we took, necessarily,” Landeskog said. “Obviously, mine is a penalty. Val, I felt like he was protecting himself and Burns, that’s a penalty. There’s nothing to argue about there. But yeah, that tilts the ice for sure and just gives them unnecessary momentum.

“So yeah, undisciplined and we’ve got to be better there for sure.”

Advertisement

Eriksson Ek put Minnesota in front at 7:48 of the second period. Cale Makar was called for slashing when his one-handed swipe while Yakov Trenin was attempting to shoot from the left wing. Trenin’s stick broke, so Makar went to the box.

Blackwood made the initial save on Matt Boldy’s shot from the high slot, but Eriksson Ek was there near the left post to clean up the rebound.



Source link

Continue Reading

Colorado

Firefighters stop spread of wildfire in Colorado’s Golden Gate Canyon

Published

on

Firefighters stop spread of wildfire in Colorado’s Golden Gate Canyon



Late Thursday morning, a house fire spreading into the nearby woods in Colorado’s Golden Gate Canyon prompted officials to issue a pre-evacuation order to nearby residents. Firefighters have since brought the blaze under control.

According to the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office, a house fire broke out around 11:30 a.m. in the 10600 block of Ralston Creek Road in Golden Gate Canyon, located around 25 miles west of Denver. The fire then began to spread into the nearby trees and grass.

Advertisement

Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office


Multiple fire units quickly responded to the scene, and the JCSO issued a pre-evacuation notice to all residents within a three-mile radius, warning them to be prepared to leave at a moment’s notice.

At 12:34 p.m., the sheriff’s office announced that the fire is no longer spreading and the burn area has been contained to less than an acre. A photo shared by JCSO shows a structure nearly completely destroyed by the fire.

Pre-evacuation orders were lifted around 1 p.m.

Advertisement



Source link

Continue Reading

Trending