This week, The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) approved a waiver of all penalties and interest associated with Winter Storm Uri imposed by El Paso Natural Gas Company (EPNG) on utilities, including Las Cruces Utilities (LCU).
In total, LCU was able to negotiate a $1.76 million reduction on behalf of consumers from the February 2021 invoice from its natural gas supplier, according to a release on the city's site that has since been removed. This cut will allow customers to recover from the upcharges in two years instead of the previously estimated three years. In addition, the emergency commodity recovery surcharge of $1.69 per dekatherm will be removed from the bills of affected customers.
In a statement, LCU Gas Business Analyst Mario Puentes said, “LCU appreciates EPNG’s request to the FERC to waive all penalties and interest due to storm Uri. The ruling will positively impact our customers by decreasing the recovery surcharge by ten months. In fact, up to 80% of natural gas production in the Permian Basin went offline; many gas utility companies just couldn’t get the supply onto the EPNG pipeline."
Winter Storm Uri caused mass destruction in southern states as it struck them unprepared and unequipped for a severe winter storm. It brought major ice buildup and caused billions of dollars of damage, in addition to spiking energy bills by several hundred percent as residents scrambled to stay warm.
