by Mark Craddock
WALSENBURG — The World Journal switchboard has been lighting up with calls from Walsenburg residents puzzled and angry over natural-gas bills that recently took an alarming leap, prompting citizens to ask what’s going on.
In the Dec. 8, 2022 World Journal, we wrote:
“The Walsenburg City Council unanimously approved on first reading Ordinance 1175, raising the rate for natural gas from 18 cents to 50 cents per cubic foot. In previous meetings, Attorney Dan Hyatt explained that, by statute, the city can not charge customers more for natural gas than it pays suppliers. But the city’s existing rate was set in 2018 and is, therefore, artificially low as gas prices have sharply increased. The rate hike will simply prevent the city from continuing to lose money in providing natural gas, he said.”
On Jan. 12, 2023, the World Journal wrote:
“ The Walsenburg City Council unanimously passed, on second reading, Ordinance 1175, which increases the charge for natural gas from $0.1847 per cubic foot to $0.50 per cubic foot. Attorney Dan Hyatt had previously explained that, by law, the city cannot charge customers more for gas than it pays. But the city has not adjusted its gas rate for several years and is therefore losing money, selling gas for significantly less than it is paying. The ordinance is meant to address that discrepancy.”
So, we can now confidently report that the Walsenburg City Council increased the charge for natural gas from $0.1847 per cubic foot to $0.50 per cubic foot. Hyatt had previously explained that, by law, the city cannot charge customers more for gas than it pays. But the city has not adjusted its gas rate for several years and is therefore losing money, selling gas for significantly less than it is paying. The ordinance is meant to address that discrepancy.
Oh, and the phone number for City Hall is 719-738-1048.
