City Utilities customers could soon be seeing higher natural gas bills following a winter storm that froze gas wells and forced rolling blackouts throughout the region.
On Monday, representatives from CU presented a plan to city council to spread out the cost of purchasing a portion of its gas at heavily inflated prices during the February freeze over a maximum 24-month period.
That cost, which will be roughly $375 for an average customer, will be recovered by increasing the price of natural gas by roughly 20 percent for the vast majority of commercial and residential customers.
If the entire 24-month period is used, that increase would amount to roughly $16 per month for an average user. By comparison, it would add roughly $63 per month if only spread out over six months.