City commission opposes Atmos Energy rate increase - KSWO, Lawton, OK- Wichita Falls, TX: News, Weather, Sports. ABC, 24/7, Telemundo -

If you're an Atmos Energy user, you can except your monthly payment to be a bit higher.

Atmos Energy rates will now be the same no matter where you live in the panhandle. For those here in Amarillo, that means you'll be paying more than before.

The Amarillo City Commission denied a request for an $11 million revenue increase for Atmos.

However that was negotiated down to $6.2 million. Leaving Amarillo customers with a base rate increase to more than $13 a month. But, Atmos says customers can expect that charge to balance out.

"However in the commodity charge, and that's what the customer uses in their home, that will be reduced. And so the thinking behind that is that even though the customer charge is going up but the commodity charge will do down. So what that will do, it will moderate their consumption in the winter months, and then in the summer months when the consumption is lower, it will be a little bit higher," Roy Urrutia, Atmos Energy director of Public Affairs says.

But the city argues it is cheaper to provide service to Amarillo than other areas. City commissioner Jim Simms says they will continue to fight the increase and appeal to a district court.