In addition to basic information such as natural gas and water usage, the Las Cruces Utilities (LCU) June monthly bill will also contain a line item labeled “emergency commodity recovery surcharge.” The surcharge reflects the recovery cost related to the extraordinary spikes in the market price for natural gas caused by Winter Storm Uri in February.
“We believe the emergency commodity recovery surcharge is the most transparent way to recoup the natural gas costs from the storm,” said Jose Provencio, LCU deputy director Business Services. “When we learned the cost of natural gas skyrocketed from the historic cold snap, a decision was made to recover the amount over a 30-month period to moderate the billing impact to our customers.
LCU customers are not alone. Utilities across the region were forced to pay higher prices for natural gas as demand spiked and supply was unexpectedly low. Winter Storm Uri caused a disruption in the natural gas supply chain extending across the United States, Northern Mexico, and parts of Canada. LCU supplies gas to its customers as a pass-through cost without a mark-up or profit. The monthly natural gas fees reflect the cost of natural gas and the cost to deliver the commodity to the customer’s residence and business.
Beginning with June billing, the emergency commodity recovery surcharge will assess a charge of $1.69 per dekatherm of customers’ monthly natural gas consumption for the next 30 months. “The increase to LCU customers depends on their monthly usage. Normally as we head into the warmer season, residential usage decreases. To be clear, the surcharge is not a new fee; it is only the recovery of the actual cost of natural gas that was incurred during the February storm.” said Provencio. Once the costs are recovered, the surcharge will automatically be removed from customers’ monthly bills.
LCU continues to challenge the penalty levied by their natural gas transportation provider and the suppliers’ market price hike due to the storm. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and the North American Electric Reliability Corp. announced that they will be looking into utility and transmission operations during the cold snap. The New Mexico Attorney General office opened its own inquiry, and the matter is still under review.
For more information and updates, visit the LCU website or call customer service at 541-2111.
The TTY number is (575) 541-2182.