Category: Consumer news

Kansas regulators approve natural gas utility’s plan to recoup $366 million from customers

The KCC estimates monthly bills could rise, on average, between $5 and $7

by Allison Kite, Kansas Reflector

Customers of Kansas’ largest natural gas utility will see their bills go up in the wake of last winter’s deep freeze — but it’s still unclear by how much and for how long.

Kansas regulators on Tuesday approved an agreement with the Kansas Gas Service to recoup $366 million in excess natural gas costs, incurred to keep residents’ heat on when temperatures last February plunged below freezing for days on end and natural gas prices rose by 200 times almost overnight.

During the freeze, which resulted in deaths and dayslong outages in Texas, the Kansas Corporation Commission ordered utilities to do everything they could to keep providing gas and electric service and defer the costs.

“A lesser response could have resulted in catastrophic property damage and serious public safety implications, including potential loss of life,” the commission said in a news release. “When extraordinary costs are unavoidable and necessary to benefit the public, it is in the public interest to allow recovery of such costs.”

The agreement represented a settlement in which KGS agreed to trim some of its carrying costs on the sum from the storm. It brought the total Kansans will pay down from $390 million.

But KGS customers won’t know how much more they’ll pay — or for how long — until the gas utility files for securitization and issues bonds to be repaid over five to 10 years. The KCC estimated monthly bills would rise, on average, between $5 and $7.

A separate settlement between KGS’ large customers, like school districts and manufacturers, is still to come and could reduce the burden on residential customers by as much as $50 million, said David Nickel, executive director of the Citizens’ Utility Ratepayer Board, which advocates for residential and small business customers of Kansas utilities.

Nickel said CURB supported moving quickly to reach a deal for customers to repay the funds with the hopes of getting low interest rates. He acknowledged “it seems like a lot of money, and it is,” and said the board was concerned about potential manipulation or price-gouging in the natural gas market.

If ongoing investigations by Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt or federal regulators reveal manipulation, the settlement says any recouped funds need to go back to ratepayers, something Nickel emphasized is important to CURB.

Nickel said the negotiations also yielded a promise from KGS to develop a payment plan program for low-income customers by the end of this year.

Nickel said it’s significant that Kansans didn’t lose heat en masse or suffer deaths because of outages.

“I can assure you that I would pay more than $600 over a period of 10 years to keep people that I know and I love safe and alive,” he said.

Kansas Reflector stories, www.kansasreflector.com, may be republished online or in print under Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0
See more at https://kansasreflector.com/2022/02/08/kansas-regulators-approve-natural-gas-utilitys-plan-to-recoup-366-million-from-customers/.

BPU offers cold weather tips to prevent frozen pipes

The Kansas City, Kansas, Board of Public Utilities (BPU) reminds homeowners of steps to take to prevent water damage from frozen and burst pipes, which can bring costly plumbing repairs and replacement fees along with headaches and unexpected expense for homeowners.

“We are facing frigid temps across the metro, which can cause pipes in vulnerable areas to freeze and burst, resulting in costly damage,” said David Mehlhaff, BPU’s chief communications officer. “By simply running a pencil-thin stream of water overnight, customers can avoid frozen pipes.”

Mehlhaff said doing this during these frigid temps could solely use about two gallons of water an evening, which prices a lot lower than a frozen or burst pipe.

BPU encourages residents to take the following precautions when temperatures are consistently at or below freezing:

· Allow a small trickle of water to run overnight to keep pipes from freezing. The cost of the extra water is low compared to the cost to repair a broken pipe. BPU also encourages customers to capture the water for wise water use. The water can be used to water indoor plants and more.

· Open cabinet doors to expose pipes to warmer room temperatures to help keep them from freezing.

· Eliminate sources of cold air near water lines by repairing broken windows, insulating walls, closing off crawl spaces and eliminating drafts near doors.

· Know the location of your main water shut-off valve. If a pipe freezes or bursts, shut the water off immediately.

· Protect your pipes. Wrap exposed pipes with insulation or use electrical heat tracing wire; newspaper or fabric might also work.

If your pipes freeze:

· Shut off the water immediately. Do not attempt to thaw frozen pipes unless the water is shut off. Freezing can often cause unseen cracks in pipes or joints.

· Apply heat to the frozen pipe by warming the air around it, or by applying heat directly to a pipe. You can use a hair dryer, space heater or hot water. Be sure not to leave space heaters unattended, and avoid the use of kerosene heaters or open flames.

· Once the pipes have thawed, turn the water back on slowly and check for cracks and leaks.

When you are away:

· Have a friend, relative or neighbor regularly check your property to ensure that the heat is working and the pipes have not frozen.

BPU also advises that sub-freezing temperatures can cause aging water mains to break and cause water to cover roadways. If you see a leak, your water service is disrupted, or you experience low pressure, contact the company’s Water Issues Line at 913-573-9622 to report an emergency.

  • Information from BPU

Low-income energy assistance program available to help Kansas residents with heating bills

A perfect storm of cold weather and expensive energy costs is headed to Kansas households heating bills this winter.

National gas costs are projected to rise by 30 percent while energy costs are expected to be six percent higher, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration and the Kansas Corporation Commission.

They explain that high natural gas and energy usage from Winter Storm Uri in February 2021, high demands on natural gas from heat waves this summer, energy shortages in Europe and Asia, and declining domestic production, all combined will cause energy and natural gas costs to be higher than normal this winter.

“This strain on already stressed family financial situations is cause for concern,” said DCF Secretary Laura Howard. “The Kansas Department for Children and Families is ready to assist Kansans with the Low-Income Energy Assistance Program (LIEAP).”

LIEAP provides an annual benefit to help qualifying households pay winter heating bills. Persons with disabilities, older adults and families with children are the primary groups assisted.

Applications for the program will be accepted beginning Monday, Jan. 3. In 2021, 38,750 households received an average benefit of $1,389, an increase from 2020 when about 34,000 households received an average benefit of $960.

To qualify, applicants must be responsible for direct payment of their heating bills. Income eligibility requirements are set at 150 percent of the federal poverty level. The level of benefit varies according to household income, number of people living in the home, type of residence, type of heating fuel and utility rates.
Applicants need to have made payments on their heating bill two out of the last three months. Those payments must be equal to or exceed $80 or the total balance due on their energy bills, whichever is less.

Applications for the program have been mailed to households that received energy assistance last year. LIEAP applications are also available at local DCF offices and through partnering agencies starting Jan. 3. They can be requested by calling 1-800-432-0043. To apply online, visit https://cssp.kees.ks.gov/apspssp/sspNonMed.portal. For more information, visit http://www.dcf.ks.gov/services/ees/Pages/EnergyAssistance.aspx.

Applications will be accepted from Jan. 3 to 5 p.m. March 31.

Income eligibility determination:

Funding for the Low Income Energy Assistance program is provided by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Community Service through the Federal Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program.