ST. LOUIS — Spire Inc. (NYSE: SR), the St. Louis-based natural gas provider, said Tuesday it is borrowing $250 million and looking to hike rates after the deep freeze experienced last month.
The company said it is borrowing the sum, with interest at the London Inter-bank Offered Rate plus 65 basis points, from U.S. Bank. Maturity is in March 2022.
"While Spire has sufficient liquidity to cover its purchased gas costs it is taking steps to ensure that its financial flexibility is maintained," it said in a regulatory filing.
Meanwhile, Spire Missouri President Scott Carter said it and other utilities on Tuesday presented to the Missouri Public Service Commission, the public agency that regulates utilities.
The PSC is gathering information about last month's weather and related price increases, Carter said, adding that it is likely to set new rates in November.
He said if Spire passed costs to customers in eastern Missouri in one year, rates would rise 15%. More likely, Carter said, is a 5% increase over three years.
Carter said Spire was able to hold down price increases in eastern Missouri by utilizing its STL Pipeline, which interconnects with the Rockies Express Pipeline in Scott County, Illinois. That pipeline taps supply basins in the Rocky Mountains, which didn't experience as many problems, Carter said.
Prices increased more in western Missouri, which relies heavily on gas from Texas and Oklahoma, where wells froze, Carter said. In the western Missouri market, customers could see rates increase 15% to 25% over a year because of the deep freeze event, he said.
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