Spire Customers To See Natural Gas Rates Decrease This Month
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November 15, 2018
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To reflect estimated changes in the wholesale cost of natural gas as well as a change in the company’s Actual Cost Adjustment (ACA) factor, Spire Missouri, Inc. d/b/a Spire (formerly Laclede Gas Company d/b/a Missouri Gas Energy) natural gas customers will see natural gas rates drop under a filing that takes effect on November 15, 2018.
The ACA factor is a mechanism which tracks any over-collection or under-collection of actual natural gas costs over a 12 month period. The net over- or under-collected balances are subsequently either refunded or collected the next year.
Under the filing, Spire residential customers will see natural gas rates decrease by approximately $0.04 per Ccf (per hundred cubic feet) of natural gas, from approximately $0.52 per Ccf to approximately $0.48 per Ccf. Spire stated in its filing that compared to current rates and assuming normal usage, this change would decrease the average monthly natural gas bill for a typical residential customer over the upcoming winter by approximately $4.00 a month.
Approximately 50% to 55% of a customer’s current natural gas bill reflects the cost of natural gas from wholesale suppliers. The wholesale cost of natural gas (the cost your local natural gas company must pay to its suppliers for natural gas) is not regulated by the Missouri Public Service Commission. The wellhead cost of natural gas is unregulated and is primarily driven by supply, demand and the weather. The Missouri Public Service Commission does conduct an annual regulatory review to ensure that regulated natural gas companies make prudent decisions in securing natural gas supplies for their customers.
Spire serves approximately 513,200 natural gas customers in the Missouri counties of Andrew, Barry, Barton, Bates, Buchanan, Carroll, Cass, Cedar, Christian, Clay, Clinton, Cooper, Dade, DeKalb, Greene, Henry, Howard, Jackson, Jasper, Johnson, Lafayette, Lawrence, McDonald, Moniteau, Newton, Pettis, Platte, Ray, Saline, Stone and Vernon.
The ACA factor is a mechanism which tracks any over-collection or under-collection of actual natural gas costs over a 12 month period. The net over- or under-collected balances are subsequently either refunded or collected the next year.
Under the filing, Spire residential customers will see natural gas rates decrease by approximately $0.04 per Ccf (per hundred cubic feet) of natural gas, from approximately $0.52 per Ccf to approximately $0.48 per Ccf. Spire stated in its filing that compared to current rates and assuming normal usage, this change would decrease the average monthly natural gas bill for a typical residential customer over the upcoming winter by approximately $4.00 a month.
Approximately 50% to 55% of a customer’s current natural gas bill reflects the cost of natural gas from wholesale suppliers. The wholesale cost of natural gas (the cost your local natural gas company must pay to its suppliers for natural gas) is not regulated by the Missouri Public Service Commission. The wellhead cost of natural gas is unregulated and is primarily driven by supply, demand and the weather. The Missouri Public Service Commission does conduct an annual regulatory review to ensure that regulated natural gas companies make prudent decisions in securing natural gas supplies for their customers.
Spire serves approximately 513,200 natural gas customers in the Missouri counties of Andrew, Barry, Barton, Bates, Buchanan, Carroll, Cass, Cedar, Christian, Clay, Clinton, Cooper, Dade, DeKalb, Greene, Henry, Howard, Jackson, Jasper, Johnson, Lafayette, Lawrence, McDonald, Moniteau, Newton, Pettis, Platte, Ray, Saline, Stone and Vernon.