CenterPoint wants to raise gas rates

Public hearing, Texas-side council vote to be held Monday

CenterPoint Energy will raise Texarkanaarea natural gas rates effective Sept. 1, pending approval by the Texas-side City Council.

The new rates would apply to customers in both Texarkanas and Nash, Redwater and Wake Village in Texas, boosting CenterPoint’s revenues by about 10.1 percent, or $1.06 million a year, spokesperson Alicia Dixon said. An average Texarkana, Texas, residential customer’s gas bill would go up about $7.27 a month, according to the company’s official Statement of Intent to Increase Rates, submitted to the city July 27.

A public hearing and vote on the increase are scheduled for the council’s meeting Monday. By state law, the council has six options: take no action and allow the rate increase; grant it; deny it; grant an increase less than that requested; set rates lower than the rates the utility is charging; or suspend a decision on the rate increase for up to 90 days beyond the proposed effective date.

Denying the change would result in an appeal to the Texas Railroad Commission, which regulates gas utilities in the state.

Texas-side city staff have recommended grant-

ing the rate increase, and as drafted, the ordinance the council will vote on Monday does so.

In Arkansas, city governments are not involved in granting or denying gas rate changes. In September 2016, the state Public Service Commission approved CenterPoint’s proposed new rates.

Both Texarkana, Ark., and Texarkana, Texas, collect franchise fees calculated as a percentage of each gas customer’s monthly payment, so higher CenterPoint bills will mean a revenue bump for each city.

In 2016, gas franchise fees collected on the Arkansas side totaled $277, 577, and the Texas side collected $272,826 in gas franchise fees in fiscal year 2017, according to city officials. That means CenterPoint’s rate increase of 10.1 percent would result in more than $27,000 per year in increased revenue for each city.

CenterPoint’s last local rate increase was almost 10 years ago.

“The need for a rate increase is primarily driven by the continuing investment that is being made to ensure the safety and reliability of the system as well as necessary increases in operating expenses, such as labor and benefits, materials and supplies,” Dixon said.

The Texarkana, Texas, City Council meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m. Monday in City Hall, 220 Texas Blvd.

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