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PUC to hold special hearing on natural gas prices

NEW ULM — A special meeting of the New Ulm Public Utilities Commission (PUC) will be held Friday (today) to discuss and develop a plan to mitigate and recapture February’s high natural gas prices.

The New Ulm Public Utilities (NUPU) warned of high natural gas prices because of the polar vortex that hit the country in February. NUPU Director Kris Manderfeld said February gas bills in New Ulm could as much as a triple from January.

Cold weather typically results in a spike in gas prices, but the recent cold impacted the entire country, including Texas. This has created a demand on gas reserves and drove up the cost. The market price for gas at the beginning of February was $2.60/MCF but is now $188.32/MCF. The NUPU views this as a catastrophic financial blow to public utilities and utility customers.

NUPU has been in contact with state and federal organizations regarding this crisis. The goal is to get the word out to legislatures about the economic impact. There are also talks of seeking federal funds or low-interest loans.

During Friday’s special meeting the PUC plans to discuss options for alleviating the high gas bills and possibly adopt any plan coming out of discussions.

Manderfeld said there would likely be some proposals presented in the meeting and the commissioners are expected to take action.

The meeting will start at 9:30 a.m. Friday, March 5 in the City Hall Council Chambers. The meeting is open to the public. The meeting will also be made available on YouTube.

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