GOVERNMENT: ATMOS GAS RAISES RATES FOR WINTER

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Southeast Missouri customers of Atmos Energy Corp. have seen the rate they pay for natural gas increase 26 percent this year.

The Missouri Public Service Commission approved the rate hike Oct. 31 as part of the company's scheduled winter rate filing.

Customers in Atmos' SEMO district had paid 62 cents for 100 cubic feet of gas. The new rate is 78.3 cents for 100 cubic feet of gas.

The SEMO district serves about 37,300 customers in Cape Girardeau, Dunklin, Iron, Mississippi, New Madrid, Pemiscot, Ripley, Scott, Stoddard, and Wayne counties.

Those customers were formerly served by Associated Natural Gas, which Atmos of Dallas, Texas, acquired last summer.

This year's winter rate is 75.1 percent higher than last year's winter rate of 44.7 cents per 100 cubic feet of gas. The winter season lasts from November through March.

The rate reflects the wholesale cost of natural gas paid by the service provider. Wholesale prices account for between 60 and 70 percent of the cost paid by consumers and are not regulated by the Public Service Commission.

The commission approved winter rate hikes for area customers of AmerenUE on Oct. 26. The company's SEMO district customers, which includes Cape Girardeau, Scott and Stoddard counties, are paying 62.91 cents per 100 cubic feet, up 20.7 percent. Ozark district customers, which includes Butler, Bollinger and Stoddard counties, have a new rate of 43.35 cents, a 33.1 percent increase.

Rates typically increase during the winter months due to higher demand. High crude oil prices and low natural gas inventories are said to have affected wholesale prices this year.

On Oct. 31, the commission also announced that AmerenUE will issue one-time bill credits totaling $20.2 million for the company's 1.1 million Missouri customers. The credits are part of a February 1997 agreement between the commission and the company over its 1996 acquisition of Union Electric Co.

Typical residential customers will receive a credit of about $7.50. The credit is expected to appear on customers' bills by the end of the year.