No hearing on gas rates this week

Negotiators for the city of Austin and Texas Gas Service, which provides residential and commercial services to Austin and the surrounding communities, have not been able to reach agreement on new rates for residential customers, Larry Graham, a spokesperson for the gas company, told the Austin Monitor Monday.

Rondella Hawkins, the city’s officer for telecommunications and regulatory affairs, confirmed for the Monitor that the hearing would be postponed to May 7, with any rate increase delayed until June 5.

Graham said under normal circumstances Council would have to decide either this week or on April 23 whether to accept or reject the gas company’s proposal. The proposal would typically be worked out between a consultant for Austin, representatives from smaller cities within the county and a representative of the Texas Railroad Commission, which represents customers in the unincorporated parts of Travis County.

Under state law, the Council had until sometime in early May to accept the proposal or reject it, allowing Texas Gas Service to appeal to the Railroad Commission, Graham said.

However, because of difficulties posed by precautions taken against the spread of Covid-19, the company has decided to request a postponement to give the parties more time to reach an agreement.

There are several issues preventing an agreement, as outlined in written testimony from consumer advocate Paul Robbins. Robbins shared his concerns about the gas company’s request with Rondella Hawkins and attorney Thomas Brocato, a city consultant with Lloyd Gosselink Rochelle & Townsend.

Texas Gas Service proposes a monthly service charge of $18.81, although Graham said he does not expect a rate that high when negotiations conclude. However, it is unlikely he would agree to what Robbins proposes – a monthly service charge of $9.55. That would match the amount charged by CPS Energy of San Antonio, a city-owned utility. Robbins believes that’s a fair amount, especially given the monthly fees charged by Austin Energy and Austin Water, which charge about $3 and $5 per month respectively, he said.

According to Robbins, the bigger problem is that while Austin Energy and Austin Water have deeply tiered progressive rates, Texas Gas Service does not. That means customers who use the most pay more per unit of energy or water used, while those who use less pay less per unit. Graham says the gas company fundamentally disagrees with that approach, wishing to charge each customer the same amount for each CCF of gas used.

The gas company incurs its greatest costs in owning, operating and maintaining its pipeline system. If it lowered its monthly fees but raised gas prices with the amount used, Graham argues that would be particularly hard on the economically disadvantaged during cold winter months when they would see much higher gas bills.

Texas Gas Service has a low-income assistance program but spent only $78,000 on it during Fiscal Year 2018-19, according to Robbins. Half of that comes from the company and half from voluntary contributions. Austin Energy spent $9.6 million and Austin Water spent $5.4 million on their customer assistance programs during the same time period. If the gas company put a small surcharge on each bill, it could create a $500,000-a-year program to help economically disadvantaged customers, he argues.

Of course, the city owns Austin Energy and Austin Water. Any dividends from the sale of electricity and water go into the city budget, not into the pockets of investors. Texas Gas Service is a subsidiary of ONE Gas Inc.

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