PHOENIX — Salt River Project is considering a proposal that would decrease overall average annual prices by 2.2 percent, the utility announced Thursday.

The average price cut for a typical SRP customer would be about $1.78 per month, SRP spokesman Scott Harelson told KTAR News 92.3 FM, but the number depends on price plan and energy use.

Harelson said the proposal does include a “modest base increase” to cover more than $2 billion SRP put into its system, maintenance and new facilities, but that increase is “more than offset by a significant reduction in the cost of fuel.”

The reduction in those costs comes from the utility’s greater reliance on natural gas, which is cheaper than coal and is projected to remain that way, according to an SRP press release.

“(The decrease is) important … because SRP as a community-owned, not-for-profit public power utility, our expenses are passed onto our customers,” Harelson said.

He said this decrease would begin with the May billing cycle and would add on to the temporary 1.5 percent decrease already approved this year.

Other changes included in the proposal are a reduction of summer on-peak hours for some price plans and additional pricing options for customers who generate some of their own energy.

The utility said the public process, which allows customers and stakeholders to submit questions and comments online or at public meetings, began Thursday.

SRP’s publicly elected board of directors will make a decision early next year, Harelson said.

“Our customers expect affordable prices and excellent customer service from SRP and they desire a more sustainable future,” SRP CEO Mike Hummel said in the release.

“This proposal balances our responsibility to maintain reliability, offer low prices and customer choices, and have financial flexibility that supports a transition to increased renewable energy technologies.”

KTAR News 92.3 FM’s Ashley Flood contributed to this report.

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