BISMARCK, N.D. – The North Dakota Public Service Commission has approved a natural gas rate increase for Xcel customers. It passed on a two to one vote. The action means the charge would go from $18.48 per month to $22.25 per month, to have the gas delivered. Xcel had proposed a $24 per month charge.
Commission chairman Julie Fedorchak was the “no” vote. She had proposed staying at that $18.48 base rate, based on the amount of gas used. Fedorchak said Xcel will be in the mode of replacing gas lines and other equipment for a long period of time:
But Commissioners Shari Haugen-Hoffart and Randy Christmann said they were concerned that the two-pronged rate could cause confusion among Xcel customers.
Fedorchak said customers could use “balanced billing” to spread out the costs over a longer period of time.
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