CenterPoint Gas Prices Plunge in Arkansas and Oklahoma

Houston-based CenterPoint Energy is decreasing the gas supply rate (GSR) portion of bills received by its Arkansas and Oklahoma customers beginning this month, due to falling natural gas prices.

The adjustment will lower by about 19 percent, compared to last year, the invoice of an Arkansas resident who uses an average of 100 Ccf (hundred cubic feet) of natural gas. This means a bill that was $109.12 in November 2014 will be $88.09 next month.

In turn, CenterPoint is reducing the Oklahoma residential gas bill for those homeowners who use an average of 90 Ccf of natural gas by about 22 percent compared to last year. As a result, a bill that was $89.24 last November will be $69.49 this month.

This is the second natural gas cost decrease the company has passed on to customers this year. The first was a 15 percent decrease in April bills compared to April 2014. CenterPoint Energy passes on the cost of natural gas through the GSR with no markup.

In both states, actual bills will vary, depending on how much natural gas individual customers use.

“The price we pay to purchase natural gas for our customers’ use has continued to drop in the last several months and these affordable prices make natural gas a smart choice for the home, the budget and the environment,” said Walter Bryant, vice president of Gas Operations in Arkansas and Oklahoma. “This is great news for our customers as we go into the heating season and the upcoming holidays when families entertain and cook more in their natural-gas fueled kitchens. We’re happy to be passing another decrease in our natural gas supply costs on to them.”