Paul Williams and his dog, Coco, at his home in North Austin Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2026.
Mikala Compton/Austin American-Statesman
Paul Williams remembers when his natural gas bill was so cheap it barely seemed worth paying.
Williams, who has owned his modest North Austin home near Interstate 35 and East Rundberg Lane since 1985, said he used to send Texas Gas Service a check for several months at a time just to avoid dealing with tiny balances.
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“The gas bill was so small, it was a nuisance to write a check for $8.23 or something,” he said.
Now retired and living alone with his dog Coco, Williams says those days are long gone.
His January gas bill totaled $133. During the same month in 2023, he paid $76 — a roughly 75% increase in just two years.
“My gas bill was extraordinarily high this winter,” Williams said.
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Paul Williams discusses his high gas bill at his home in North Austin Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2026.
Mikala Compton/Austin American-Statesman
As gas bills climb across Austin, the City Council is poised Thursday to approve what advisers are calling a “once-in-a-generation” franchise agreement with Texas Gas Service, the utility that serves roughly 95% of Austin’s natural gas customers. But members of the city’s Resource Management Commission say the proposed 10-year deal does not go far enough to shield customers like Williams from escalating costs.
The commission, which advises council on energy and sustainability issues, says city staff left out several major recommendations intended to strengthen oversight of Texas Gas’ infrastructure spending, expand low-income bill assistance and place tighter restrictions on how the utility passes costs on to ratepayers.
Commissioners argue those omissions could weaken the city’s ability to challenge future rate increases at a time when Austinites are already struggling with rising utility bills.
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“Bills are high,” commission Chair Charlotte Davis said in an interview. “People are noticing their bills are going up much faster than inflation, so something should be done, right?”
City spokesperson Melissa Espitia said all commission recommendations were brought to the table during negotiations with Texas Gas but some did not make the cut during the course of the talks — and during subsequent legal review.
“The resulting agreement reflects the outcomes of those negotiations,” Espitia said in a written statement. “The agreement presented for Council consideration reflects the terms determined appropriate for inclusion following legal, operational, regulatory and negotiated review.”
Paul Williams discusses his high gas bill at his home in North Austin Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2026.
Mikala Compton/Austin American-Statesman
The proposal
Federal data shows residential gas prices in Texas have risen sharply over the past decade. In Austin, city data shows rates have more than doubled since 2019.
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The City Council has not renegotiated Austin’s franchise agreement with Texas Gas in decades. The current 20-year contract expires in October, giving the city a rare opportunity to revisit how the utility operates and how aggressively it can pass costs on to customers.
The franchise agreement itself does not directly set gas rates, which are largely regulated through the Texas Railroad Commission. But commissioners argue the agreement can still influence how Texas Gas structures and justifies future rate increases.
The commission adopted a slate of recommendations in January for a new 10-year agreement. But members said the version city staff sent to council ahead of Thursday’s vote excludes several provisions they considered most important.
“It would be unfair to say that city staff did not take any of our advice,” said Paul Robbins, the commission’s vice chair and a longtime Texas Gas critic. “But the big things that could help rates… were left on the cutting room floor.”
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Paul Williams discusses his high gas bill at his home in North Austin Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2026.
Mikala Compton/Austin American-Statesman
The missing pieces
At a special meeting last week, the Resource Management Commission adopted a resolution urging the city to put some of those things back into the proposal, including enhanced conservation programs, leak detection protocols and bill-payer assistance funding.
One of the largest omissions that could keep prices down, commissioners argued, is a requirement that Texas Gas charge developers for building out infrastructure to serve new developments rather than passing those costs on to ratepayers. Similarly, the commission has asked for more oversight as the gas company upgrades its distribution network.
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The Railroad Commission can grant the utility permission to raise rates periodically to pay for infrastructure upgrades. Since 2024, Texas Gas has sought four such increases, the most recent filed in March.
“So basically that means every year, they can come back and say, ‘Hey, we spend a lot of money on our infrastructure, and we need to recoup those costs by increasing our fees,’” Davis said.
Robbins said he wonders if the upgrades the utility says it’s making are really necessary. He suspects the utility is “gold-plating” its system — overbuilding in order to raise rates and maximize profits.
“I cannot fathom what they could be doing. Is this the bridge to nowhere?” Robbins said. “It begs skepticism.”
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In a statement, Texas Gas pushed back on commission members’ accusations.
“The regulatory process is often complex. Every rate request is thoroughly reviewed by engineers, independent experts and state regulators to make sure our spending is responsible and focused on safe, reliable service,” wrote company spokesman Jason Cleary.
Paul Williams discusses his high gas bill at his home in North Austin, alongside his dog, Coco, Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2026.
Mikala Compton/Austin American-Statesman
The path forward
Robbins said he’s found favor with at least three City Council members who have indicated they might try to delay the vote or amend the proposal to strengthen it.
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Marc Duchen is one of those members.
“In this new contract, the City of Austin has the opportunity to do everything we can to work out a better deal for residents and make the cost of gas service less burdensome,” Duchen said in a statement. “With a contract negotiation extension, we’ll have more time to work on programs that provide assistance to ratepayers.”
Two other council members Robbins named, Ryan Alter and Mike Siegel, declined to comment.
“It’s a fluid situation,” Robbins said. “Optimally, they get it pulled; if not, then they would try and add language to rehydrate some of the things that have been lost.”
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As for Williams, the North Austin homeowner, he doesn’t really care how Austin and Texas Gas arrive at a solution. He just wants to see the constant rate hikes stop.
“I think they charge too much, and they’ve raised the rates too frequently,” Williams said. “Just set the fair price, make a profit, but don’t overdo it.”