COLORADO SPRINGS— Colorado Springs City Council approved utility bill reductions on Tuesday. Colorado Springs residents could see an $8 decrease starting July 1st. Colorado Springs Utilities (CSU) said this is the biggest energy cost decrease in years.
Some residents said any savings, no matter how big or small, is good news.
"We need every little bit of help we could get so it's nice they're thinking of us and trying to do what they can," said resident Kristy Canella.
"Anything that could help with being able to afford all of the other things that have now become more expensive would be a great help," said resident Chris Sherwood.
This is the third energy rate decrease in Colorado Springs since last November. A CSU expert said this is because of the warmer winter weather, which led to fewer people using natural gas for heat.
"It really boosted natural gas supplies," said the CSU Pricing and Rates Manager Scott Shirola.
The bigger supply led to a lower cost to buy natural gas nationwide, said Shirola.
"Being able to respond to that very quickly and lower costs and pass that savings along to our customers," said Shirola.
CSU said to save more money, set your thermostat to 78 degrees this summer. Doing this you use less energy to cool your home from outside temperatures.
If you need help paying your bill, customers can call 211 to find payment plans or extensions.
"We might use [the AC] for a couple of hours just to knock the end of the day heat off then it's like raise the windows and try to decrease the bill," said Canella.
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