Starting in March, heat bills will rise

Residents outside Colorado Springs will pay nearly $35 more a month to heat their homes during the coldest times of the year, an increase that will come just weeks after they were issued credits on their bills.

Starting March 1, typical residential customers of Kansas City, Mo.-based Aquila will see winter heating bills rise to $154.56 a month from $120.29. The increase will average $17.44 a month.

Typical commercial customers will pay $576.80 a month under the increase, up $130.63 from $446.17. That will average $70.58 more a month.

The fluctuating bills and credits reflect volatility in the cost of natural gas.

Aquila, like other utilities regulated by the Public Utilities Commission in Colorado, is permitted under state law to pass on gas purchase costs to customers, although it’s not allowed to mark up the price.

The PUC will review Aquila’s requested increase, but can’t block the change if the company documents its rising gas costs.

After three straight years of annual increases, Aquila lowered bills in fall 2006 and May 2007. Before the start of this heating season, Aquila lowered bills again. Part of that decrease was an effort to refund the company’s lower-than-expected gas purchase costs the previous year.

In January, Aquila decided to accelerate that refund and issued average $113 credits to residential customers this month.

Aquila’s gas purchase costs have risen in 2008, and the company proposes to pass on the higher expense. By doing so now, Aquila will bring heating bills back to where they were at the close of 2006-07, said Roger Kort, an Aquila manager.

Aquila serves about 36,000 customers in Black Forest, Monument, Palmer Lake, Woodmoor, Fountain and Woodland Park.