With the new year comes costlier utility bills for Idaho residents.

The Idaho Public Utilities Commission in separate news releases announced that Intermountain Gas Company and Idaho Power have been approved to increase their service charges and usage rates. Both statewide companies settled for lower rate hikes than they initially proposed.

Both rate changes took effect Jan. 1.

The commission (IPUC) regulates utility companies and regularly hears rate-change cases when companies propose changing usage prices and service fees in line with their need to increase revenues to keep up with operational costs.

Idaho Power, headquartered in Boise, was granted authority to increase customer costs by 7.48%, an IPUC release states. Under the new rates, residential customers who use an average of 900 kilowatt-hours per month will see an increase of approximately $12.13 on their monthly bills. Residential service charges will remain at $15 per month.

A typical Idaho Power residential customer uses 952 kilowatt-hours per month, on average, according to the utility’s website.

Service charges for small generation service and small general service on-site generation customers will also remain unchanged at $25 per month.

The rate hikes will increase Idaho Power’s annual revenue by $110 million — less than the original request of $199.1 million — and are “necessary to support investments in upgrading, replacing, and building power lines, substations and other critical infrastructure,” the IPUC release states, adding “the utility also is investing in wildfire resilience efforts, additional staffing and technology resources, among other initiatives.”

Idaho Power’s initial request to increase revenues would have spiked customer costs by over 13%. That proposal was met with scrutiny from customers who cited cost-of-living concerns and being disproportionately saddled with the results of growth and inflation, the Idaho Press previously reported.

In coming to its decision, the commission “determined that the settlement reflects meaningful input from multiple parties and appropriately considers customer interests,” IPUC’s release states. “The Commission further concluded that the settlement seeks to balance customers’ interest in limiting the size of the rate increase with Idaho Power’s need to recover the costs required to provide safe and reliable service.”

Additional information on the case is available online at puc.idaho.gov/case/Details/7527.

Similarly, Intermountain Gas, also headquartered in Boise, settled for a rate increase lower than initially proposed.

The average residential customer’s monthly bill will increase by $2.45, or 6.02%, plus a $3 change in their monthly customer charge, from $8 to $11, IPUC’s release states.

General service commercial customers’ monthly bills will increase by about $4.42 — 2.46% — plus a monthly customer charge increase of $8, bringing the new monthly charge to $23.