Title
Consider an ordinance approving a change in the rates of Atmos Energy Corporation as a result of a settlement between Atmos and the Atmos Texas Municipalities ("ATM"). (Second Reading)
Body
Item Summary:
The City is a member of the Atmos Texas Municipalities ("ATM"). The ATM group was organized by a number of municipalities served by Atmos and has been represented by the law firm of Herrera & Boyle, PLLC (through Mr. Alfred R. Herrera).
In the summer of 2013, Atmos and ATM entered into an agreement that approved a process for calculating annual changes to Atmos' rates under a tariff called the Rate Review Mechanism (RRM).
Atmos submitted its RRM package to the cities on or around July 15, 2013. Atmos requested an increase in rates on a system-wide basis of $22.7 million. Following a series of settlement negotiations between Atmos' experts and ATM's experts, Atmos offered to resolve this matter for an increase of $16.6 million, a $6.1 million decrease from its original proposal.
Approval of this increase in rates will impact the average customers' total bills as follows:
Residential Customer: $0.74/month and 1.75% overall
Commercial customer: $2.16/month and 1.01% overall
Industrial/Transportation Customer: $53.65/month and 2.02% overall
The attached Ordinance also directs Atmos to reimburse ATM's rate-case expenses.
Recommended Action
Staff recommends approval