Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Utilities topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Senate budget committee hears PSC budget as senators press on Delta gas bill spikes
Summary
The Senate Budget Committee reviewed the Public Service Commission FY27 budget and pressed PSC officials on widespread reports of sharp residential gas-bill increases after Delta Utilities bought Entergy gas assets. PSC staff said rates remain regulated but usage, commodity costs and billing changes explain many spikes; Delta will appear at the PSC monthly meeting to answer constituents.
The Senate Budget Committee Finance reviewed the Public Service CommissionFY27 recommended budget Feb. 20 and spent substantial time on constituent complaints about recent residential gas bills in Baton Rouge.
"We have had an outrage of cries from our citizens about the high Delta bills," Senator Barra told PSC staff, citing examples of minimum bills that moved from about $19 to more than $100 in some cases. Brandon Frey, executive secretary for the Public Service Commission, said the commission will have Delta Utilities representatives at its next monthly meeting to answer those questions.
Frey described the mechanics behind what residents are seeing: when Delta purchased gas assets previously bundled on a single invoice with electric service, customers began receiving separate gas bills. "The rate itself for the gas service is the same rate that energy was charging," Frey said, adding that two forces explain sudden increases: higher usage during an extended cold spell and a marked rise in natural gas commodity prices this winter. Frey also noted that levelized billing did not carry over automatically to Delta unless customers opted in, leading to volatile month-to-month bills for previously levelized accounts.
PSC fiscal staffer Chaz Nicholson presented the agency budget details that frame the commission's capacity to respond. Nicholson said the PSC is almost entirely fee-funded, with roughly $11.5 million in self-generated revenue in the recommended budget, and that personnel costs represent about 85% of expenditures. The agency has 95 authorized positions and, as of early January, about 19 vacancies.
Lawmakers pressed PSC staff to investigate billing outliers and customer-service failures. Frey said the commission will pursue cases in which utilities charged more than authorized and will follow up on customer-service complaints; he encouraged constituents to contact their local commissioner for individual issues.
The committee took no formal vote on the PSC budget during the hearing. The PSC said Delta Utilities will be on the record at its monthly meeting to answer customer questions, and senators asked staff to report back with follow-up findings.
