The Public Utility Commission will also decide in the next month or two whether CenterPoint can raise rates to pay for mobile generation units they leased in 2021. CenterPoint is second to Texas New Mexico Power, whose combined rates for transmission and distribution translate to about $27.56 a month for a house that uses 1,000 kilowatts CenterPoint's translates to about $25.88 a month. While CenterPoint had the largest rate increases this year, the utility does not have the highest transmission and distribution rates in the state. Those additional costs are on top of the roughly one-penny per kilowatt hour rate hike CenterPoint instituted in fall 2021, which was the equivalent of adding about $10 a month to residential customers that used about 1,000 kilowatt hours monthly. All told, the additional costs charged by CenterPoint will mean residential customers will pay an additional $11.45 monthly. The second-highest rate hike in the state, by Texas-New Mexico Power, is $6.06 a month, and Texas' largest utility Oncor's rate for the Transmission Cost Recovery Factors will rise by $5.17.ĬenterPoint did not immediately respond to a request for comment.ĬenterPoint will also raise their distribution rates by the highest amount in the state - up $1.48 a month for a household using 1,000 kWh. 1, CenterPoint residential customers that use 1,000 kWh a month can expect their bill to rise by $9.98 a month thanks to an increase in the utility's Transmission Cost Recovery Factors, which utility companies charge to recoup expenses for upgrading transmission and power lines. No utility has raised their rates more than CenterPoint, according to filings with the Public Utility Commission.Īs of Sept. Meanwhile utilities in Texas have continued to raise the rates they charge for delivering power to their customers. In turn, that will continue to put pressure on natural gas and electricity prices here. natural gas than before the war, especially as Europeans turn on their heaters - largely powered by natural gas - to stay warm this winter. While that could weaken overall demand for natural gas, Europe will still rely more heavily on U.S. The European Union also announced earlier this month it would institute a mandatory 5 percent reduction in power demand during peak hours, with an overall target of a 10 percent cut in total electricity demand. RELATED: Surging power prices show no signs of waningĮlectricity prices across the continent, however, remain historically high largely due to natural gas costs.

In Germany alone, the price of electricity was cut by about half in three weeks. natural gas, which companies here have been working overtime to export to European countries.īut in the past few weeks, the price of electricity in Europe and natural gas has begun to stabilize, according to Rystad Energy. That has created a huge new demand for U.S. Russia provided Europe with about 40 percent of its natural gas in 2021, which was all but cut off as the war has dragged on. The price of natural gas began to spike after Russia invaded Ukraine in February. Within the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, or ERCOT, about 44 percent of all power generation came from natural gas in 2021, and power traders and retailers use the price of gas as their benchmark for setting power prices. As I wrote back in June, most of that spike has been caused by a surge in demand - and prices - for U.S.

Houston power utility