Texas Gas Service (TGS) has filed for its third rate increase in approximately 12 months, affecting customers in Austin and surrounding areas. On Thursday the Austin City Council is expected to approve a 90-day delay of the proposal, though the city has limited authority to block it. The city does not own its gas utility […]
Texas Gas Service
Posted inEnergy
Austin gas rates are up and they’re set to go higher. Here’s why.
Between recording sessions in KUTX’s music studio a while back, sound engineer Jake Perlman brought up something decidedly un-rock-and-roll: his gas bill. The first few months of the year, Perlman said, he paid about double what he had paid during the same months the previous year — despite using less gas at times. “I could […]
Posted inResources
Council is likely to briefly stop rate hikes for natural gas
Texas Gas Service Company and CenterPoint Energy Resources, which serve gas customers in Austin and surrounding areas as well as other parts of the state, have filed notices of their plan to raise rates for the service regions that include Austin. The increase for the Gas Reliability Infrastructure Program is intended to repay the company […]
Posted inResources
Council rejects Texas Gas Service rate hike
Despite reining in its initial proposal, Texas Gas Service has still failed to win over City Council in its endeavor to raise prices for Austin ratepayers. The utility faced backlash this summer with news of its plans to aggressively hike fixed monthly fees, prompting Austin and 16 other cities in its service area to join […]
Posted inResources
Texas Gas Service rate hearing at Council this Thursday
City Council will host a hearing on Thursday to allow members of the public, particularly customers of Texas Gas Service, to voice their opinions about a large rate increase the utility is proposing. The city has also joined a coalition of cities seeking to convince the Texas Railroad Commission, which makes the final decision about […]
Posted inResources
At Council Member Alison Alter’s urging, city commission may have input on natural gas matters
Members of the city’s Resource Management Commission have been trying for months to find out how they can weigh in on the current rate case for Texas Gas Service. They have passed a number of resolutions seeking to have input – not only on the cost of natural gas to consumers, but also on prioritizing […]
Posted inEnvironment
Who should regulate Texas Gas Service conservation programs?
Longtime utility critic Paul Robbins has discovered that House Bill 2263, legislation approved by the Texas Legislature this spring, may hamper city efforts to regulate rebates offered by Texas Gas Service. The same would be true of other cities throughout the state that have regulated natural gas utilities. HB 2263 gives the Texas Railroad Commission […]
Posted inResources
Resource Management Commission considers petition for oversight on gas utilities
The city’s Resource Management Commission may soon find itself a bit busier, with plans for a vote to add oversight of Austin’s natural gas utilities to its purview. Commissioner Paul Robbins, a longtime environmentalist, brought the proposal forth. It would explicitly designate the commission as City Council’s primary adviser on gas utility policies like rate […]
Posted inEnergy
Consumer advocate angry about elimination of hearing
Paul Robbins, a longtime advocate for energy conservation and a critic of various utility providers, including Texas Gas Service, had been planning for months to testify before City Council in a Nov. 18 hearing on the company’s conservation program. So he was shocked and angry when he received an emailed memo Tuesday night informing him […]
Posted inResources
Gas companies seek more cash from consumers
Texas Gas Service, as well as other utilities throughout Texas that provide natural gas to consumers and businesses, is asking the Texas Railroad Commission to allow it to put a surcharge on customers’ bills in order to pay for natural gas used during Winter Storm Uri. TGS filed its application with the commission to recover […]
Posted inEnergy
Cities, Texas Gas Service agree to settlement
Attorneys for Central Texas cities including Austin and Gulf Coast cities including Beaumont and Port Arthur, along with attorneys representing the staff of the Texas Railroad Commission, have reached a settlement agreement with Texas Gas Service for a rate increase expected to take effect in August. Austin City Council rejected the previous request from Texas […]
Posted inResources
Council rejects Texas Gas Service rate hike
City Council voted unanimously Thursday to reject new rates proposed by Texas Gas Service. The vote came as no surprise. The decision had strong support from a group of environmental and consumer advocates who wrote a letter to Council last week urging them to reject the new rates, which would have brought in more than […]