By Bill Raack, KWMU
St. Louis, MO. – State utility regulators today approved some changes designed to make it easier for Missourians to pay their heating bills this winter.
Natural gas prices are at record high levels this year so the Public Service Commission has amended the state's cold weather rule.
PSC chairman Jeff Davis says regulators voted to allow disconnected customers to resume natural gas service if they 50-percent of their debt as opposed to the current rule of 80-percent
"The low income heating or home energy assistance program; those applications are up 27 percent, Davis said. And some of those programs around the state are going to be running out of money around the first of January. So we thought is was very important to act and get this rule out there.
A spokesman for Laclede Gas Company in St. Louis says the utility needs to evaluate the cold weather rule changes before commenting on them.