Missourians are getting a break on natural gas for the winter heating season, but they’re seeing an increase in cost for electricity.
Mike Cleary with Ameren Missouri says its 126,000 customers will see a slight reduction in the cost of natural gas this winter — an average of $1.60 a month. He says Ameren Missouri doesn’t make a profit off of product, which makes up about two thirds of residential bills. The remainder is for the delivery, which Cleary says Ameren does make a profit from, but has not implemented a delivery rate increase for three years now.
Where customers might feel the pinch is in the electricity portion of their bill.
Overall, electricity rates climbed 10.4 percent — 11.9 percent for residential users — this June. Cleary says that’s an annual average. Rates are at their highest during peak usage, which is the summer air conditioning months and the winter heating months.
Jessica Machetta reports [Mp3, 1:10 min.]
