Board fired up over $200G natural gas bill

By GINA KINSLOW
Glasgow Daily Times

TOMPKINSVILLE October 09, 2008 11:38 am

— Tompkinsville city commissioners are anxious to get to the bottom a problem involving a gas bill totaling more than $200,000.
City commissioners are hoping to meet in special session later this month with a representative of the Constellation Energy Group, the company from which the city of Tompkinsville buys natural gas wholesale, to have that person explain the city’s bill.
The city received a bill for $217,891.53 for the month of July.
“We’ve never had a bill that was even comparable to this one,” said Commissioner Scotty Turner.
Commissioner Jeff Harrison pointed out the bill for July was higher than what the city is billing Tompkinsville residents for their natural gas usage.
“This time of year we would have expected something less than a third of that,” he said.
This is the first year the city has purchased its gas wholesale from Constellation Energy Group. In 2007, the city purchased gas from Atmos Energy Group.
“They wanted to go with Constellation, so we changed and it’s been a mess ever since,” Mayor Beverly McClendon said.
The city’s July 2007 gas bill was $8,406.29, according to city records.
McClendon said the bill for July was so high because Constellation Energy Group failed to bill the city from December to July.
“I don’t understand why it happened,” McClendon said. “We are in a controversy. I don’t know why they didn’t bill us.”
McClendon and other commissioners are hoping the company representative can explain to situation.
If the city does owe the money, McClendon said the city will pay the bill.
“I’m not backing off from our debt, but there was something wrong to let this pile up on us,” he said.
In order to pay the bill, the commission voted Sept. 25 to cash in a $100,000 certificate of deposit. The CD was money the city had been saving to use to attract industry to the area.
Harrison hopes the issue is only temporary and he plans to urge other commissioners to vote to put the money back so it can be used for its original intended purpose.
“We need to replace that money as soon as possible,” Harrison said.
A tentative date of Oct. 14 has been set for the special session.