High Cost and Increasing Power

December 30th, 2025

High Costs and Increasing Rates
By Timothy J. Power, CEO

For the past five years, DSO has managed to keep rates relatively steady for the bulk of its members through various cost-cutting measures. The most impactful cost-cutting measures have been our peak shaving strategies, namely, investing in low-cost solar projects and diesel generators. Combined, DSO’s peak shaving saves its members nearly $1 million in power costs each year.

But, over the past three years, the power costs we pay our energy supplier, KEPCo, have increased by over 10%. In addition, the material and components DSO uses to keep the electrical grid up and running have also increased in price. For example, from 2020-2024, the cost of insulators increased 70%, transformers increased 98%, and primary wire increased 59%*. And the prices DSO pays for items like poles and trucks are still relatively high.

Because of these rising costs, DSO will be increasing the energy charge for all its members by 7% in March 2026 (see table below).

The meeting notice regarding the rate increase is published in this edition of Kansas Country Living. The rates are planned to take effect on March 1, 2026. So, any usage prior to March 1, 2026, will be charged at the current rates.

We will continue to do our best to avoid increasing rates and strongly recommend residential members to consider the Residential – Interruptible rate, which can save you significant money on your summer utility bills.

Rate	Current Energy Charge	March 1, 2026 Energy Charge
Irrigation Service – A	$.140/kWh	$.150/kWh
Irrigation Service – B	$.070/kWh	$.075/kWh
Residential	$.261/kWh (Red Zone) $.087/kWh (all other)	$.279/kWh (Red Zone) $.093/kWh (all other)
Residential – Interruptible	$.074/kWh	$.079/kWh
Residential – PrePay	$.135/kWh (Jul & Aug) $.115/kWh (all other)	$.144/kWh (Jul & Aug) $.123/kWh (all other)
General Service	$.1190/kWh (Jun – Sep) $.0990/kWh (all other)	$.1273/kWh (Jun – Sep) $.1059/kWh (all other)
General Service – Demand	$.0637/kWh (Jun – Sep) $.0537/kWh (all other)	$.0682/kWh (Jun – Sep) $.0575/kWh (all other)
General Service – Large	$.0520/kWh	$.0556/kWh
General Service – Time of Use	$.0610/kWh	$.0653/kWh
RV Campgrounds	$.115/kWh (Jun – Sep) $.095/kWh (all other)	$.123/kWh (Jun – Sep) $.102/kWh (all other)

* NRUCFC video series: Beyond Inflation: Understanding the True Costs of Utility Equipment (www.nrucfc.coop)