Has Your Gas Bill Gone Up
You may have noticed you gas bill has gone up recently. Atmos Energy says there is a reason for it and no you aren't crazy thinking your bill has gone up.
According to our news partner NewsWest9
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courtesy of Andrea Goodson, spokes person for Atmos, says there are a few reasons why your bill could have gone up.
Since March Atmos employees have been estimating reading meters. In the month of October, they have gone back out to reading meters in person.
Second, Odessa and Midland City council agreed to increase Atmos rates $2-4 dollars from month-to-month.
This rate increase will take effect on December 1.
Goodson says on average, Atmos Energy bills are around $50 dollars a household.
“A lot of the cost we incur are system upgrades," Goodson said. "We want to make sure the pipe underground is safe and not leaking.”
Aside from damage, the new rates will help to cover something else.
“We have people that hit our gas lines that we have to go out and replace," Goodson said. "These rates help cover the cost we incur to update our system as well as replace pipes that are damaged.”
Goodson tells NewsWest 9 that during COVID-19 they have seen a significant uptick in damage pipes.
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