Texas residents express concern for upcoming electric, gas bills following winter storm

TEXAS (KSLA) - Large payments in Texas power and electricity bills have residents concerned for what kind of charges they can expect this month following the winter storm.

SWEPCO Communications director Carey Sullivan said people can expect to see a higher electric bill because of the winter storm for two reasons: more energy usage and higher cost on fuel for the power plants.

“SWEPCO is regulated which means our rates are set by the public utility commission of Texas the parts of Texas where customers are seeing those alarming high bills are apart ARCOT which is an unregulated portion,” Sullivan said.

“When you get your bill you see that you used more kilowatts hours during this record breaking winter snaps. As far as the fuel charge, we’re working with regulators to get that charge spread over a longer period of time,” she said.

Olivia Koch with CenterPoint Entergy explains what they’re doing to protect customers from high bills.

“At this time, the actual treatment of cost related to natural gas purchases to meet customer demand has not been finalized. The Company is reviewing all available options, including working with our regulators on a state-by-state basis, as well as natural gas suppliers and pipelines, to lessen the bill impact to customers,” she said.

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