The overall price of natural gas and increased customer usage in the cold weather was to blame for recent high gas bills from Summit Utilities, an executive told the Little Rock Board of Directors Tuesday.
Kenny Henderson, the vice president for governmental affairs from Summit Utilities, took questions and addressed concerns and frustrations about higher gas bills.
Director Ken Richardson said he saw an increase in his bill. Some of his Ward 2 constituents also told him their bills tripled or quadrupled. Richardson said he was concerned about how people without a lot of money to spare would pay for their groceries and medicine while also facing such a high gas bill.
Summit Utilities bought the assets of CenterPoint Energy at the beginning of 2022, Henderson said. CenterPoint continued its customer services until Nov. 1, 2022, while Summit established itself. Henderson acknowledged the poor response times during the cold weather that came through near Christmas and at the end of January.
“There have been some bumps along the way with that,” Henderson said.
Multiple directors said they personally experienced a recent higher-than-normal gas bill. At-large Director Joan Adcock said that while no one was in her home — not even her dog — her bill spiked from around $70 to $220. She also noted that it would be beneficial for callers to speak with a person on the phone quickly, rather than spend hours working through the automated line.
Using a sample bill from a customer, Henderson explained each charge. Delivery and service charges are the cost for employees to do business, the supply charge is the price for natural gas, and taxes and fees are just that. He said the supply charge that customers pay is exactly the same as what the company pays.
“We don’t make any money off of the gas supply,” Henderson said. “We don’t like high gas prices.”
Henderson said natural gas prices have gone up in the last few years. He pointed to the war in Ukraine, European supply, federal policies and remaining issues from COVID-19 as causes. The natural gas price, as well as an increased customer usage during the cold weather, attributed to the recent higher bills, Henderson said.
Director Lance Hines said he also noticed an increase in his own bill. He chimed in to blame Bidenflation, suggesting that the president’s failure to pump up the domestic fossil fuel industry is the problem.
“I’m not going to lay the supply charges at your [Henderson] foot, it’s our current administration’s attack on our hydrocarbon industries that are driving gas prices up,” Hines said. “I know that you might not want to say that in public, but I will. It’s not the war on Ukraine, it’s our attack on our own domestic supply of gas and oil.”
At-large Director Antwan Phillips questioned whether Summit Utilities was making rate increases on its own without oversight from other organizations. Some folks aren’t able to pay for their bill if it’s four times as expensive as they thought it would be, Phillips noted.
“There’s an issue here, Kenny,” Phillips said.
Henderson said the gas supply rates are adjusted twice a year, in October and April. The Arkansas Public Service Commission reviews the rates. For people who have trouble paying their bills, Henderson said the company works with customers to get help from assistance agencies.
“We work with customers everywhere we can,” Henderson said. “But in the end, it’s never enough.”
Henderson also addressed the mishap of estimated bills that were delivered to customers between Jan. 17-20. He said 167,000 customers in Arkansas and Oklahoma were affected, but a corrected bill was sent out soon after. Those who paid a higher expense for their bill would be credited if they have not been already. Some of those incorrect bills were for lower amounts than what was actually owed.