Click the link to read the article on the Pagosa Springs Sun website (Derek Kutzer). Here’s an excerpt:
September 25, 2024
On Sept. 19, the Pagosa Springs Town Council adopted new rates for the geothermal water that the town sends to The Springs Resort. The new rates are based on what the council deemed as the “fair mar- ket” values of the heat and mineral content of the water. The council decided that a fair market rate for the heat/energy of the water should reflect the same per- centage of rate increases that general customers have experienced. Geothermal utility customers saw a 100 percent rate increase in the 2022-2023 heating season and a 50 percent increase for the 2024-2025 season. The council’s calculations deem that if The Springs Resort also paid these rate increases for the geother- mal energy, its rate would be $2,084 per month or $25,007 annually, and this rate would be the fair market value for the heat/energy component of the water. On the mineral component, the council decided that the fair mar- ket value would be determined by the daily entry fee that The Springs charges its nonresident visitors. Currently, the resort charges out-of-town purchase the water at these new rates…
The council ultimately decided on $1,675 per month, or $20,100 annually, for the usage of the water’s mineral component, which was calculated by multiplying The Springs’ daily nonresident price of $67 by the number of its soaking pools (25).