(Missouri) Natural gas customers prepare for higher utility bills this winter

[Sherman A1]

COLUMBIA, MO— Spire West natural gas customers in Howard, Moniteau, Pettis, and Saline Counties saw their rates double Tuesday from 40 cents per hundred cubic feet of gas to 79 cents. Central Missouri natural gas customers of both Ameren Missouri and Spires Energy saw higher bills because of a February severe freeze in Texas that blocked the flow of gas to other states and spiked wholesale prices.

Spires Energy officials doubled gas rates to about 80 cents per hundred cubic feet of gas. Ameren Missouri officials did the same thing on November 1. Fulton natural gas customers were not seeing the higher rates because Fulton was one of the few cities in Missouri that acted as a natural gas utility. City Administrator Bill Johnson said the City of Fulton had enough reserves to keep natural gas prices at lower levels for his customers.

Johnson said, “The reserves that we have in the bank and the natural gas fund came from the consumer. You can think of it as the profit the city makes. We put that money in a special fund to allow us to weather situations that we’re going to be coming into during the next several months.”

Ameren Missouri and Spire Energy officials said energy assistance was available to some customers who had trouble paying utility bills.

https://krcgtv.com/news/local/natural-gas-customers-prepare-for-higher-utility-bills-this-winter

[Gore1FL]

1. I received a letter from Spire complaining environmentalists for a pipeline possibly shutting down.

There was no mention as to why the pipeline was allowed to decay below environmental standards, though...