Council responds to CU’s proposed rate hike

CU is asking for a 4.1 percent increase in natural gas base rates. That would raise the average residential bill by $3.91 per month, while the bill for the average general service customer – a group that includes nearly all business and industrial customers – would increase $14.58 per month.

Twitty said the increase would fund an additional $5 million the utility needs to pay for increased natural gas purchase costs and infrastructure improvements required by state regulators.

Several council members, however, aren’t sold on the rate hike.

Councilwoman Mary Collette noted that the city – which faces a similar-size shortfall for the coming fiscal year – is looking to fund the difference through internal cuts rather than additional revenue. She asked if the utility could take a similar approach.

Councilwoman Cindy Rushefsky agreed, pointing to the CU audit presented by State Auditor Susan Montee in December.

“What has the (Board of Public Utilities) done since the audit to say, ‘Is there a way we can cut things off of this budget to get to that $5 million gap, at least for another year,’ so we can get past the worst of the economic situation?” Rushefsky asked at the meeting.

Twitty said CU has eliminated 32 jobs through attrition in the last five years, in addition to cutting employee benefits and overtime hours. He also noted that CU gas customers pay 20 percent less than the Missouri and national averages.

“The things that we buy to operate the gas system are the exact same things that other systems are buying; they buy the same types of pipes, the same types of meters, the same types of trucks, the same natural gas,” Twitty said. “(Our lower rate) wouldn’t be the case if we hadn’t been very aggressive in managing costs across the board.”

Council is expected to consider the rate increase at its April 7 meeting.