Item 5: Draft Recommendation TGS Conservation Based Rates — original pdf

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Proposed Resolution of Conservation-Base Natural Gas Rates for Texas Gas Service Rate Case WHEREAS, Texas Gas Service (TGS) has proposed Residential rates that are over a 100% increase from rates in 2019; and WHEREAS, a rate case for this increase is currently being adjudicated at the Texas Railroad Commission; and WHEREAS, TGS rates are highly regressive, so the more a customer uses, the less a customer pays per unit of energy; and WHEREAS, regressive rates work against the goal of energy conservation, a goal which the Resource Management Commission is charged with encouraging; THEN BE IT RESOLVED that the Resource Management Commission recommend that the Austin City Council adopt a rate-case policy that changes the TGS Residential rate structure to do the following: 1. Limit the amount collected by the monthly fee to no more than 25% of total rate revenue requirements for the Residential rate class (reflecting Austin Energy’s current policy), with the balance being obtained from volumetric charges; 2. Create 3 consumption tiers, including a low-tier for customers who do not use gas for space heating; a tier for average use; and a tier for high levels of gas consumption; 3. Argue against adoption of the TGS proposal for two distinct residential rate options that place the burden of choice upon individual customers.