Residential customers of Minnesota's largest natural gas company could face a significant increase in the basic monthly charge under a recommendation issued Wednesday by an administrative judge.
CenterPoint Energy's basic charge would go from $8 to $12 per month if Administrative Law Judge LauraSue Schlatter's findings are accepted by the state Public Utilities Commission later this year.
The basic charge is applied to all residential customers regardless of how much gas they use. CenterPoint, which serves 823,000 customers in Minnesota, asked for an even bigger increase in that charge, saying it should more fairly reflect the cost of serving customers.
The 50 percent increase would be offset by a corresponding drop in the metered charge. So the net effect would be higher bills for customers in the summer, when gas usage is lower, and flat or lower bills in winter, when heating costs hit pocketbooks most.
Consumer and environmental groups had complained about CenterPoint's proposal to boost the basic charge to $15 per month, or 87 percent, saying it would produce higher bills overall for customers who use the least natural gas. Those who burned the most gas would benefit from the change.
In her findings, Schlatter said she was "very sensitive" to those concerns. "People who are on fixed incomes and have worked to conserve their gas usage are in a particularly difficult position," she wrote.
Yet some low-income customers, she said, are big gas users who are hurt by the current rate structure.
CenterPoint had no immediate comment on the findings but said it will respond during the remaining stage of regulatory review.