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-Editorial
The Imperial Irrigation District (IID) Board of Directors unanimously approved a power rate adjustment on Jan. 21, marking the district’s first increase since 2015. The rate update is intended to address rising costs associated with maintaining and modernizing IID’s electric system, including infrastructure upgrades, fuel procurement, labor expenses, and compliance with California’s renewable energy mandates.
The Board also authorized $10 million in funding for ratepayer assistance and energy efficiency programs to help mitigate customer impacts. IID officials emphasized that the district’s rates will remain among the lowest in the state despite the adjustments.
The IID Board heard a presentation outlining the proposed electric rate adjustments for 2025 through 2028. The presentation, delivered by Chief Financial Officer Belen Valenzuela and Tony Georgis of NewGen Strategies & Solutions, built on the findings of an electric cost-of-service study completed in December 2024.
The study revealed a consistent $100 million annual under-collection in revenues under the current rate structure. This shortfall has significantly depleted reserve levels, hindered necessary $1.3 billion investments in aging infrastructure, and contributed to deferred maintenance. The analysis also highlighted increased energy cost adjustment (ECA) volatility and insufficient support for regional growth and local control.
Critical components of IID’s electric system have surpassed their useful life, jeopardizing service reliability. For instance, R-Line poles average 38 years old, with some dating back to 1924, while K-Line poles average 27 years old. Turbines at the Yucca facility, operational since 1959, are among the outdated assets contributing to higher energy costs and unplanned outages.
The study showed significant revenue shortfalls across customer classes. Residential rates, for example, are under-recovered by $88.8 million, or 25.6%. Overall, IID would need to adjust base rates to recover an average of $754.9 million in annual costs, compared to current revenues of $654.6 million.
The rate plan proposes gradual increases in base rates and customer charges to stabilize finances. Residential rates would rise from 11.69 cents per kilowatt-hour (kWh) to 24.38 cents by 2027. Customer charges for residential and mobile homes would increase from $9.60 to $12.25 monthly by 2027.
During recent public hearings and workshops, IID officials addressed community questions regarding proposed rate changes and energy cost adjustments (ECA). Staff confirmed that the new base rates include ECA billing factors, which were calculated based on projected power purchase and fuel costs. In response to inquiries about the over-collection of ECA funds, officials stated they are working with the board to develop a customer refund plan. Additionally, staff clarified that funding from the City of Indio’s Joint Powers Authority (JPA) was not included in IID’s cost of service, as it is designated for Indio-specific projects.
Public Outcry
Many in the public expressed their frustration with the proposed increase and asked the board to table this item for another time.
“This is a difficult situation,” said Erik Reyes of Los Amigos de la Comunidad during the public comment period. “We all know that. I’ve been active on these issues for years, and other elected officials have avoided addressing it. But at this point, you are hurting people. There are individuals in our community who are already struggling economically, making tough choices every day. While I know there are programs to assist low-income residents, the word isn’t getting out effectively. You hired a million-dollar PR company, but where are the results? You need to quantify what they’re doing to get people signed up for the help they need.”
Reyes urged the IID Board to reconsider the pace of the proposed rate increase, suggesting a more gradual approach. “You don’t need to implement a full 23% increase right now. With the money you’ve over-collected, you can spread it out over five to seven years. This would ease the burden on families who are already feeling the pressure. A public agency like IID has not just a fiduciary duty, but an ethical responsibility to help the people it serves. Use your vast resources to work for our community.”
Peter Rodriguez of El Centro delivered strong remarks to the IID Board, particularly targeting IID Director J.B. Hamby.
“I’m against this rate increase for several reasons. It was announced during the holidays, right before Christmas Eve—how could people be prepared? It’s like giving them coal in their stockings.”
Rodriguez accused the board of turning their back on the people who elected them. “If you truly worked for the people, you wouldn’t do this.”
Rodriguez also criticized Hamby’s stance, questioning his priorities.
“You’ve already made your decision and put it out to the public, but in 2020, you campaigned on reducing costs, so where’s the follow-through? Be a man, do it right. You can delay this.”
Mary Helen Dollente from Holtville addressed the board, urging them to postpone any action on the rate increase. “I believe this issue should be postponed, and no vote should be taken today,” she said. “The study was done over the holidays, and many people were unavailable to participate, including board members. I think all of you, as board members, should be engaging with the public and letting them know this will be very hard, especially on retirees. The study itself seems incomplete, and the allocation of costs to residential customers hasn’t been sufficiently justified.”
Dollente continued, “I strongly feel that action needs to be postponed until more public input is gathered. We, the ratepayers, are the ones who put you in office. You represent us, and with upcoming elections, you should consider how your constituents will feel about this. For retirees, this rate increase is especially difficult. Even with conservative energy use, our bills are still unreasonably high. Something needs to be done to address these concerns for the sake of our community.”
Board Deliveration
IID Director J.B. Hamby addressed the board and the public, emphasizing the responsibility of the community in maintaining the district’s infrastructure. “We are all co-owners of these power plants, of every mile of line in the air,” Hamby said. “No one wants to raise rates, and that’s why it’s only happened once in the last 30 years. But the reality is, we’re living off the investments that our great-grandparents and grandparents made. This is not sustainable. Moving forward, we’ll be taking on efforts to address this every two years, ensuring regular communication with our customers so there are no surprises.”
Hamby acknowledged the concerns of the public, particularly regarding reliability and employee safety, and the challenge of rising costs. “We’re not happy about paying more, but there are factors outside of our control—state mandates, aging infrastructure, inflation. We can’t bury our heads in the sand and ignore these problems,” he said. “The ECA portion of your bill reflects the consequences of years of underinvestment. If we want a different future, it’s going to take action.”
He pointed to the aging plants, highlighting the risks of relying on them without proper investment. “This plant here is offline, and it’s a massive part of our generation capacity. Do we want to rely on this plant this summer? No, we can’t because it’s offline. This is the consequence of the lack of investment over generations.”
Hamby emphasized the importance of communication and transparency moving forward. “We have a responsibility to be transparent and communicate what we’re doing. I recognize we’ve fallen short in the past, but this is just the beginning of a process that will take 15 years to get the district’s infrastructure into a condition we can rely on. It’s on us to fix this, but it’s also on us to communicate clearly to the community what we’re spending their money on.”
Director Karin Eugenio spoke passionately about the difficulty of the rate increase decision, acknowledging the challenges faced by both the board and the public. “I know how difficult it is to hear that rate increases may possibly happen, and I can guarantee that being up here and making this decision is even harder,” she said. “We’ve looked at this from every angle, spending the last year visiting different sites and talking to employees. Everyone agrees that our infrastructure is lacking in an extraordinary way. We need to become autonomous and stop relying on the ECA and the open market.”
Eugenio continued, “I can tell you that I’ve been consumed by emotion, and I know what we have to do. Getting people to understand has been beyond challenging. Yesterday, I spoke to an IID employee about how much this decision weighs on me, and she said, ‘Well, if you decide not to vote on it, we’ll just keep making emergency purchases and figuring out how to pay for it.’ That’s what’s been done for so long, but we can’t keep doing that to ourselves or to our employees.”
She added, “We are public servants. We don’t have IID vehicles, and we don’t make salaries over $100,000. I’m a single mom with four kids, and I have the same struggles you do. Raising these rates is not an easy decision, but it’s something we have not taken lightly.”
Finally, Eugenio discussed efforts to address the rising costs affecting vulnerable populations. “Our general manager mentioned resources that will become available after today, and we’ve discussed creating a roundtable with our far stakeholders to address the challenges, not just in energy, but also in water and other rising costs. This roundtable will focus on reaching our most vulnerable populations, which has been the most challenging part of this process.”
IID Board Chair Gina Dockstader addressed the concerns raised during the meeting, emphasizing the importance of service reliability despite the difficult decision to increase rates. “We appreciate all the comments that you have given, and we understand the community,” Dockstader said. “Thank you, Mrs. Dollente, for coming and sharing your words. I know there are other ratepayers who feel exactly the same way, and we value your input.” She acknowledged the challenge of the decision, stating, “I recognize that I wasn’t elected to raise your rates, but you deserve reliability. When you turn on your air conditioner in the summer, you’re going to want it to work. When you flip the light switch, you’re going to want the light to come on, and that is what our board is elected to ensure. I cannot give you that service without recovering the cost of service.”
She continued, stressing the need for stability in pricing: “We can’t continue with the ECA fluctuations like last summer. We just can’t continue this roller coaster. We don’t even know what your bill’s going to be, and that’s not acceptable. We need to provide you with a better level of service.”