Yes, Clearwater Power will implement a necessary rate increase on the January 2026 billing cycle. The rate change affects all customers.

Our Member Services team can provide you with specific details about your bill. The average residential account will see an increase around 9%.

There are three charges on every bill: a service availability fee, a charge for energy and a peak demand charge.

• All residential customers will see a $3.75 increase in monthly service availability fees. The service availability charge will increase from $38 to $41.75.
• The charge for energy or the charge for kilowatt hours (kWh) will not change. It remains $.0904 per kilowatt hour.
• The demand charge will increase from $.92 per kilowatt (kW) to $1.97 per kilowatt, a difference of $1.05 per kilowatt.

Each member’s peak demand will impact their specific increase. With an average demand peak, this equates to an increase of about $10 per month. Demand for most people will be higher in the winter months due to electric heating.

The average residential home will see an increase of about 9%.  Because some members have higher demand, they may see increases above 9%, while others with lower peak demand may experience lower increases.

For more specific or additional information, please call the Member Services team at (208) 743-1501.

The rate change affects all customers and will be effective on the January billing cycle.

Members paying monthly will see the new rates on the bill they receive for electricity used from Dec. 21, 2025 to Jan. 20, 2026.  This bill will be mailed at the end of January and will be due Feb. 20.

Members using the pre-pay option will see the daily adjustments beginning Dec. 30, and also a level set for Dec. 20 to 30.

Clearwater Power’s mission is to provide our members with safe, reliable, cost-based energy.

While we remain focused on doing our part to keep costs down, costs for supplies, equipment and operations, and importantly the cost of purchasing wholesale power have continued to increase. The result is a necessary rate increase.

Keeping rates static is no longer an option. Clearwater Power needed to increase rates for 2025, is implementing a rate increase for 2026 and will likely need to increase rates again for 2027. This is intended to keep increases more manageable over time, with smaller and more frequent increases rather than one steep increase.

Below are a few specific examples among many:

• The cost of purchasing wholesale power has increased approximately 20 percent from last year, which was effective Oct. 1, 2025, this increase came in addition to incurring additional charges as part of a cost recovery allocation charge from the Bonneville Power Administration.
• Since 2020, the cost to purchase wire has significantly increased, with primary overhead wire increasing 95% and primary underground wire increasing by about 60%.
• The cost of critical supplies has steadily increased, with transformers nearly doubling in cost since 2020.

Our members are owners, as well as customers of the cooperative.  The cooperative business model works because all members contribute to the cooperative. Your cooperative is accountable to you – our member-owners and not outside investors.

The member-elected board of directors approved the new rate. Their focus is to protect members’ access to safe, affordable and reliable power.

Thanks to reliable, carbon-free hydropower, Idaho and Washington are 2 of the 10 states with the lowest residential electric rates in the U.S.

Some factors that affect Clearwater Power rates are the miles of line we maintain, which are the highest of any cooperative in the state of Idaho, and the density of members, with less than 4 meters served per mile of line. This is the lowest density in Idaho.

Clearwater Power has a three-part rate structure. On your monthly bill, you’ll see three charges, a service availability fee, a charge for energy and a peak demand charge.

The service availability fee covers a portion of the fixed costs associated with having electric service. It covers things like power line maintenance, right-of-way work, accounting and member services. This cost is the same for all residential members. This fixed rate will increase $3.75 per month. (Note: This is for residential, only, small/large commercial and other rates will be different.)

The energy charge represents the costs for the energy – measured in kilowatt-hours (kWh) – used. The cost per kilowatt-hour is the same for all residential members, but of course, how much electricity each member uses determines the amount charged. This rate will not increase.

Demand, sometimes called peak demand, is a measurement – in kilowatts (kW) – of the peak impact on the electric system to deliver power. The demand charge is based on a measurement of the maximum amount of power used. In our case, it is the most power used during any 15-minute period. The demand charge will increase from $.92 per kilowatt (kW) to $1.97 per kilowatt hour, a difference of $1.05 per kilowatt.

Kilowatt hours (kWh) measure consumption and kilowatts (kW) measure demand.

Analogy: Kilowatt hours are like measuring how many cars drive down the highway in a day. Kilowatt measures how many go by at one moment. A two-lane highway can accommodate hundreds of cars each day, but there are only two lanes available at a given moment. Unlike a road, we cannot wait or “divert traffic.” We must have enough lanes to accommodate that moment of maximum need or “peak demand.”

Our system must be built to meet these peak demand times, even though for most of the day, the demand for power is less.

Separating demand charges from energy charges allows us to better balance some of the costs that are directly related to demand, rather than total energy consumption.

We conducted a cost-of-service analysis to evaluate and design rates to fairly recover increasing costs.

Some of our costs are based on total energy consumed, some costs are fixed and some costs are based on peak demand. This type of rate structure is fundamentally about fairness.  It offers greater transparency and control over your total charges. Separating the charges allows us to make power bills more equitable among all members and their various energy needs and consumption.

There are times when the demand for energy is considerably higher than other times and the cooperative’s ability to deliver electric service is strained. Our system is built to accommodate the peak times of highest use, though for much of the time, the needs of the system are considerably less than those peaks.

Electrical demand dictates how large the entire electrical grid needs to be to give members all the power they need when they need it. Some members need more electricity at once.  To accommodate the need for this higher demand, the transformer and line feeding their service needs to be larger. The larger transformers and line are more costly to install and maintain.

Each member’s peak demand will determine their increase. Because some members have a higher demand, they may see increases higher than 9%, while others with lower peak demand may experience lower increases.

You can reduce your bill by reducing your demand or reducing consumption.

The more appliances operating at one time, the higher the demand. It doesn’t matter how long they’re on, it only measures the “highwater mark.” It is different from energy charges which measure the total used over time in kilowatt hours. Limiting the number of appliances running at once may reduce your peak demand. Limiting how often you run the appliances will may reduce your energy charges.

It is challenging to limit demand because many appliances that contribute to demand are automatically turning off and on, like the water heater or electric heat. However, comparatively, demand rates are still a small portion of your total bill.

You can also learn more about energy efficiency and available rebates and incentives at clearwaterpower.com.

We conducted a cost-of-service analysis to evaluate and design rates to fairly recover increasing costs.

As we looked at our wholesale power costs, demand is large percentage of our costs for wholesale power.  However, a very small percentage of our revenues comes from demand charges to our members. Increasing demand charges help us share costs among members fairly.  It helps the cooperative cover the steady fixed costs, and then allows our purchase of wholesale power to ebb and flow with retail sales to members.

The intent of the service availability charge is to help recover the fixed costs of providing electric service to the members. Fixed costs include the cost of infrastructure (substations, poles, wires and transformers) used to deliver power to each point of service.  These costs are incurred regardless of how much electricity is used. The service availability charge to members is a portion of the actual fixed costs.