Ameren Missouri natural gas customers will see a 67 percent rate increase under a filing with the Missouri Public Service Commission that will take effect Nov. 1.
The increase is a result of changes in the wholesale cost of natural gas as well as a change in the actual cost adjustment (ACA).
Residential customers currently pay approximately 46 cents per ccf (per hundred cubic feet) of natural gas. Under Ameren Missouri's filing, the rate will increase to approximately 77 cents per ccf. Fifty to 55 percent of a customer's current natural gas bill reflects the cost of natural gas from wholesale suppliers, according to PSC officials.
The wholesale cost of natural gas (the cost your local natural gas company must pay to its suppliers for natural gas) is not regulated by the PSC. The wellhead cost of natural gas is unregulated and is primarily driven by supply, demand and the weather. The PSC does conduct an annual regulatory review in an effort to ensure regulated natural gas companies make, "prudent decisions in securing natural gas supplies for their customers."
PSC officials said the ACA factor is a mechanism which tracks any over-collection or under-collection of actual natural gas costs over a 12-month period. The net over- or under-collected balances are subsequently either refunded or collected over the next 12 months.
Ameren Missouri's current ACA period (Sept. 1, 2020, through Aug. 31, 2021) includes costs associated with the February cold weather event which company officials said had a significant impact on certain natural gas prices.
The PSC has approved a request filed by Ameren extending the ACA recovery period from 12 months to up to 36 months, thereby spreading the costs from the February cold weather event over a longer period of time. Ameren officials said this is being done to help mitigate the impact on customer bills.