Gas Rates Rising in La Grange

The La Grange City Council voted unanimously last week to defer a natural gas rate increase to CenterPoint Energy customers for 45 days.

The City does not have any control over the rate for natural gas set by the utility provider. Centerpoint will increase rates to residential customers by $2.33 effective May 3. Residential base rates will go from $22.59 to $24.92.

Rules governing utility rates allow the City to suspend the rate increase for 45 days, which Council did at a meeting last Monday. The new rates will go into effect for La Grange customers on June 17.

The natural gas utility can unilaterally raise rates on an annual basis through the Gas Reliablity Infrastructure Program (GRIP). La Grange customers have seen natural gas rates increase by nearly 80 percent over the past 10 years, from 13.95 in 2011 to $24.92 this year. This comes at a time of historically low prices for natural gas on the commodity market.

In a letter to the City, Centerpoint said the rate increase is necessary to pay for improvements to its delivery infrastructure.

Cities can contest the annual increases by arguing a “rate case” before the Texas Public Utility Commission. The last time that happened, in 2018, the base rate for La Grange residents dropped from $23.24 to $19.