Why your gas bills could be going up more than $80 per year

TOPEKA (KSNT) – Kansas Gas Service (KGS) is looking to raise utility bills by more than $80 annually.

The gas company announced Friday it’s seeking a request with the Kansas Corporation Commission (KCC) to increase its rates. This is being done to recover investments the KGS has made to ensure safe, reliable and environmentally-friendly services are delivered to its customers.

"We’re committed to safety, improving our system and the reliable delivery of natural gas, even in challenging weather like Winter Storm Uri in 2021 and Winter Storm Gerri this past January," said Sean Postlethwait, vice president of operations for Kansas Gas Service. “During these extraordinary winter events, our team worked around the clock to provide reliable natural gas service to more than 647,000 customer homes and businesses in 360 communities across Kansas.”

If approved, the rates for those using natural and less natural gas will go up $6.71 or $9.48 per month, based on whether the customer uses “less” or “more” gas. The KGS noted this filing does not impact the section of the bill associated with the cost of gas itself.

"Our employees work hard to manage our expenses to help keep energy costs at reasonable rates,” Postlethwait said. “We are here to assist our customers with programs to manage their monthly bills and provide helpful energy-saving tools."

The KCC has 240 days following this filing move by the KGS to review the request.

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