Texarkana council approves Summit Utilities rate increase, adds annual CPI review and safeguards

The Texarkana City Council unanimously approved an ordinance on July 21 that authorizes a change to residential and commercial natural gas rates charged by Summit Utilities Arkansas Inc., and establishes a procedure for prospective annual adjustments tied to the core Consumer Price Index. City Attorney Jeff Lewis and City Manager David Orr told the council that staff had negotiated changes to Summit’s originally proposed tariff package to remove what staff described as company-favored automatic riders and to substitute a core-CPI rider that excludes food and natural gas. Lewis said the substitution comes with notice and council review requirements and a sunset date of Jan. 1, 2030. The council was told this package is intended to avoid a contested rate case before the Railroad Commission of Texas, which Lewis said would be costly and ultimately borne by customers. Lewis said, “In staff's opinion, the base rate increase is warranted for safe and reliable natural gas service,” and described the CPI rider as a way to make future adjustments more predictable while protecting customers from other automatic charges the city objected to. Orr said staff also sought regional consistency and noted the city negotiated safeguards that keep Texarkana's rate from exceeding rates imposed in Texarkana, Arkansas. “We're trying to avoid costly litigation,” Orr said, adding that the CPI approach would avoid year-to-year “high shock” increases for customers. Council discussion included questions about timing and scope. Council Member Thompson asked to confirm the immediate effect of the approved change and the role of the CPI thereafter; staff replied that the ordinance approves the company’s March-submitted package as revised and that any CPI-based adjustment would be noticed by Nov. 1, reviewed by the council in December, and, if adopted, take effect Jan. 1, 2026. Council Member Matlock said she was done revisiting past infrastructure issues, and Council Member Davis thanked staff for negotiating removal of the contested riders. The ordinance captioned by the city secretary amends natural gas residential and commercial rate schedules and rider schedules authorized in ordinance 2022-004. The council voted to approve the ordinance on a motion by Council Member Davis, seconded by Council Member Meador; the measure passed unanimously. The ordinance directs staff to follow the notice and review process for any CPI-driven adjustment and preserves the local franchise safeguard that Texarkana rates will not exceed those of Texarkana, Arkansas.