Dallas Officials Poised To Approve Atmos Gas Rate Hike
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It looks like the Dallas City Council is going to approve most of a proposed gas utility rate hike by Atmos Energy Corporation.
Did you know that city officials have a say in how much your gas bill is? Apparently, they do, though it only amounts to roughly 20% of your final bill. Even still, every penny counts these days, and council members seem to be amenable to allowing Atmos Energy to raise its rates, just not as much as it wanted to.
The upcoming city council meeting on Wednesday has a consent agenda item for an ordinance that would formally deny Atmos Energy’s request but authorize a smaller increase totaling $27.9 million in additional revenue for the Dallas-based company.
While the municipality doesn’t have control over how much you’re charged for the gas itself, it does have regulatory authority over distribution rates, which include delivery and billing. Every year, Atmos Energy has the opportunity to request a rate adjustment.
At the beginning of the year, Atmos Energy filed a request asking to adjust rates so it can draw an additional $31.4 million annually from Dallas starting on June 1. For the average residential customer, this would have amounted to a $8.28 increase per month. Commercial customers would have paid $21.72 more per month on average.
The energy provider has been asking for significant rate hikes from the city for years. As appears to have happened this time around, its request is typically denied and a smaller negotiated rate hike gets adopted instead, according to The Dallas Morning News.
In a recent newsletter to her constituents, Council Member Gay Donnell Willis (District 13) said she’d been hearing concerns from residents about increases to their gas bills. She suggested, however, that the city can’t promise rates won’t be hiked.
“If the City denies the request outright, Atmos can appeal to the Texas Railroad Commission, which often rules in favor of utility companies. During that time, Atmos may begin charging the higher rates,” the newsletter reads. “That’s why the City aims to negotiate a fair settlement. If negotiations fail, a denial recommendation may still move forward.”
The company’s latest quarterly report saw profits grow due to rate increases and growing market share, according to Reuters.
Atmos Energy cited $217 million in capital investments in Dallas proper between October 2023 and September 2024 in its rate hike request. It said over 85% of that money was spent on safety and reliability enhancements to infrastructure.
“This investment in system modernization also reduces our environmental impact,” the company said. “Our goal of reducing methane emissions from our distribution system mains and services by 50 percent from 2017 to 2035 is essential to our environmental commitment.”
It also pointed out how it made more than $2.5 million in charitable contributions to various causes in Dallas.
As noted in the ordinance on Wednesday’s consent agenda, city officials “determined that Atmos failed to demonstrate the reasonableness of the requested increase.”
