Laclede Gas Monthly Service Fee Union, Missouri

FAQ about change to monthly customer charge

Q. Why does Laclede bill a monthly fixed amount even when the customer uses

little or no gas?

A. The costs Laclede incurs to build and maintain the more than 16,000 thousand

miles of pipes it uses to deliver gas to its customers on a safe and reliable basis

are a constant part of our ongoing operations and are not impacted by variations in

demand. For example, field and customer service personnel, equipment, trucks

and all of the other resources needed to provide service must still be deployed no

matter how much gas is used. It may be helpful to think of Lacledes customer

charge as similar in nature to fixed charges that consumers typically pay for other

types of services, such as cable or cell phone service. If the consumer chooses not

to watch any TV programs or make any calls, they are still subject to a flat charge.

There must also be an opportunity to recover a portion of the financing and other

capital costs associated with the hundreds of millions of dollars in investments

that have been made in the system over the years. This includes costs we incur

for work related to mandated local, state and federal public improvement projects

and safety requirements. Because all of these costs are fixed in nature, it is

appropriate to recover a share of them through a fixed customer charge.



It's called a facility charge on my gas bill (Atmos Energy) @ $10/month.

It's called a Service and facility charge on my Xcel Energy power bill.

The explanation I've gotten is that the fixed costs associated with providing the service(s) don't change dependent on the amount of energy you use.

Most of my power is generate by an 8KW solar system, I still pay the Service and facility charge even if I have a credit for any month.



Doubt that makes it feel any better, but it is what it is.

No, I don't work for ANY of the companies in this report.

electric rate increases 3 or for in the last 5 years. At least you don't have msd. The sewer bills may hit 80-100 in the next 5-10 years. Our politicians are allowing this to happen to us. The epa is driving up the price of utilities as well. "Green" jobs.