By AP/KWMU
Jefferson City, Mo. – Missouri utilities will be allowed to add an extra $100 to $200 dollars to customers' heating bills in the winter to cover the rising cost of natural gas.
On Thursday AmerenUE and two other companies got approval from the Missouri Public Service Commission to impose the higher charge, and Laclede Gas in the St. Louis area is expected to follow.
The charge would be spread across the November-to-March heating season, and it could be adjusted again.
It factors in only market prices for natural gas and does not include company profits.
State regulators say utilities are paying up to 40 percent more for wholesale natural gas than they did a year ago.