Huntsville Utilities says a combination of inflationary costs and increasingly energy-wise customers led it to seek a rate increase this week.

Though prices the utility pays for everything from wires to work trucks have skyrocketed since 2020 – in some cases, nearly doubling – CEO Wes Kelley told city councilors they have stabilized. The same inflationary pressures are pinching people on everything they buy, he said, and Huntsville Utilities has been reluctant to add to its customers’ costs.

“I recognize that a rate increase does just that,” he said. “We’ve been holding off on this … but the prices have not gone down.”