CORPUS CHRISTI. TEXAS — Consumers can expect to pay more for electricity in the coming months as summer kicks off.
Some local residents are already feeling the impact of rising bills.
Mary Lopez tells KRIS 6 News higher bills are putting a strain on her budget.
"It real rough," Lopez said. "I'm the only one working, we live on a fixed income."
Natural gas prices may be to blame for increasing electricity rates. Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi economics professor Jim Lee said the rates have gone up substantially.
"The rates have gone up by 70 percent since last year June 2021," Lee said. "We're talking about 300 percent since last year and most energy, especially in Texas is produced by natural gas."
Customers may experience a spike in their electric bills at different times depending on their current electricity contract.
"The concern would be for customers that are coming off of contracts in June, July, August could have a pretty profound effect," said energy broker Tim Clark. "We're seeing rates as high as 19 cents per kilowatt."
Experts say they don't expect a drop in the price of electricity anytime soon.
