diff --git a/moto/utilities/utils.py b/moto/utilities/utils.py
index 01d20e47e..255d29199 100644
--- a/moto/utilities/utils.py
+++ b/moto/utilities/utils.py
@@ -1,6 +1,10 @@
 import json
 import random
 import string
+import six
+
+if six.PY2:
+    from io import open
 
 
 def random_string(length=None):
@@ -18,5 +22,5 @@ def load_resource(filename):
     from pkg_resources import resource_filename
     load_resource(resource_filename(__name__, "resources/file.json"))
     """
-    with open(filename, "r") as f:
-        return json.load(f, encoding="utf-8")
+    with open(filename, "r", encoding="utf-8") as f:
+        return json.load(f)