Railroad Commission candidate Henry questions charges
"Unbelievable" -- that's how Texas Railroad Commission candidate Dale Henry characterized recent revelations about hundreds of thousands of dollars in questionable legal and consultant costs by Atmos Energy.
The Star-Telegram reported Feb. 18 that those charges (which included more than $16,000 in potentially excessive hotel bills) will get charged to utility customers. Atmos attorneys and consultants were racking up those charges as they were litigating a 2007 rate case, even as the company was removing separate charges for expensive limousine rides and cases of wine.
The three-member Texas Railroad Commission recently approved a settlement agreement in the case that included the questionable bills. Henry said the elected commissioners should be exercising more oversight.
"If a utility's lawyers want to stay in expensive hotels and they can afford it, that's fine -- but that utility won't, in turn, be passing those costs onto its ratepayers when I'm on the Railroad Commission," said Henry.
Commission chairman Michael Williams, who is running uncontested in the Republican primary, said the agency could have opened a formal proceeding to dispute the charges -- but that would cost even more.
Most of about $1.7 million in questionable charges identified by an agency expert were rung up by Atmos, although the City Of Dallas billed for $186,000 without sufficient documentation. None of the questionable charges were from Fort Worth attorneys.
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