Ameren plans cut in gas rates

Falling natural gas prices will bring relief from high heating bills for most natural gas users in Southeast Missouri.

The Missouri Public Service Commission will act today on the proposed winter gas prices for AmerenUE's customers in Cape Girardeau, Scott, Stoddard, Butler and Bollinger counties.

For the customers in Cape Girardeau, Scott and most of Stoddard counties, the proposed rate for the winter is 21.4 percent lower than last year's rate. For about 2,000 customers in Bollinger and Butler counties and Advance, Mo., the costs will rise because prices in the past were kept artificially low by a long-term contract that recently expired, AmerenUE spokesman Mike Cleary said Wednesday.

In Cape Girardeau, a customer will pay just under $1 per hundred cubic feet of gas this winter, compared to almost $1.27 per hundred cubic feet last year. For the customers who will pay more, this year's rate will be about 95 cents per hundred cubic feet, compared to about 87.5 cents per hundred cubic feet last winter.

"The main factor in that one section is that those customers had a very favorable rate last year and that is why it is going up some this year," Cleary said.

The rate cut for customers in Cape Girardeau, Scott and Stoddard counties will be the second reduction this year and represent the lowest rates since the winter of 2004-2005. The Cape Girardeau-area rate applies to about 20,000 gas customers.

If winter brings near-average temperatures, Southeast Missouri customers receiving a rate cut will pay about $23.60 less per month, according to a news release from Ameren. For those who will pay more, the extra will come to about $6.50 per month.

The actual savings for each customer will vary based on the size of the area being heated, the kind of furnace used and other factors, such as insulation, Cleary said. "We take all the gas sales to our residential customers and just average it, and it includes everything from small apartments to the governor's mansion," he said.

Gas rates fluctuate based on market conditions and pipeline transportation costs, Cleary said. Prices are adjusted regularly so the utility doesn't receive windfall profits or suffer dramatic losses as a result of price shifts.

The proposed rates for Ameren are on the PSC agenda for today, spokesman Kevin Kelly said. If approved, the new rates take effect Nov. 1.

Nov. 1 is also the day that the PSC's long-standing Cold Weather Rule, which bars utilities from shutting off customers when the temperature is below 32 degrees, begins operating. The rule, which lasts until March 31, protects customers who make and keep payment plan agreements with utilities as well as elderly and disabled customers who register with the companies.

Consumers will enjoy lower costs because natural gas prices are about half of what they were at this time last year, according to the latest energy bulletin from the Missouri Department of Natural Resources. Prices peaked at this time last year because of supply disruptions from the Gulf of Mexico caused by hurricanes.

Ameren offers customers help to control energy costs through a pilot program of rebates for efficiency measures, Cleary said. The program offers rebates for programmable thermostats, energy-efficient home furnaces and efficient commercial equipment.

The rebates are part of a $165,000 pilot program that will run through April 1, 2007, or until all the money is used. The program pays 50 percent of the costs of the efficiency measures, up to a set limit, and customers must apply for in advance before installing a furnace or efficient commercial equipment, he said.

"We haven't had much of a response, so we do have money available," Cleary said.

Application forms and full program details are available at the company's Internet site, www.ameren.com, Cleary said.

The federal government also provides tax incentives for installation of furnaces and other equipment that save energy.

rkeller@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 126