The City of Boerne is considering a change to its natural gas rate structure for residential and commercial customers with service from Boerne Utilities.
City Council discussed the potential changes during its regular May 12 meeting, including a presentation from Finance Director Sarah Buckelew.
Background
The last natural gas rate study conducted by the City of Boerne was in 2014. The last rate change was approved by City Council in 2016.
The decision to review the rates now stems from several factors, including the need to ensure the long-term sustainability of the City’s small but growing natural gas system.
The City estimates it will need $9.3 million over the next five years for natural gas infrastructure, including capacity improvements and pressure modernization. The primary focus of these investments are neighborhoods in the service area along Highway 46 East.
Recent technological advances in home appliances like tankless water heaters have also created unintended strains on natural gas infrastructure.
Rate Study
Currently, there is only one tier for all residential customers and one tier for all commercial customers.
The recent rate study conducted by the City of Boerne recommends a new three-tiered rate structure for residential and commercial customers based on small, medium, and large meter sizes.
“If you look at the average residential bills, with our current single-tier billing rate, our customers with the smallest gas meter, having the least demand on the system pay the same rate as those with larger meters.” Buckelew said. “Creating incremental rate tiers, based on meter size, distributes infrastructure costa fairly between our small, medium and large gas customers.”
The tables below outline the number of customers in each tier and the potential monthly rate increase on an average bill.
| Customer Type/Tier | Number of Customers in Tier | Current Average Monthly Bill | Proposed Average Monthly Bill | Change in Average Monthly Bill |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Residential Small | 2,603 | $53.16 | $62.20 | + $9.04 |
| Residential Medium | 1,164 | $46.89 | $63.76 | + $16.87 |
| Residential Large | 11 | $51.90 | $69.71 | + $17.81 |
| Customer Type/Tier | Number of Customers in Tier | Current Average Monthly Bill | Proposed Average Monthly Bill | Change in Average Monthly Bill |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Commercial Small | 167 | $95.75 | $113.08 | + $17.33 |
| Commercial Medium | 161 | $279.76 | $312.46 | + $32.70 |
| Commercial Large | 158 | $831.79 | $916.38 | + $84.59 |
The move to a multi-tiered structure would align Boerne with other cities with similarly sized natural gas systems like Brenham, Tomball, Castroville, Grey Forest, and Pearsall.
What’s Next?
City Council will continue to review the natural gas rate study. If it decides to move forward with the changes, there will be two opportunities for the public to weigh in at upcoming meetings before formal adoption of the ordinance.
- June 9, 2026 – First reading of the Gas Rate Ordinance
- June 23, 2026 – Second reading of the Gas Rate Ordinance
Both meetings start at 6 p.m. and will be held at City Hall, 447 N. Main Street.
After formal adoption by City Council, the new rates are expected to take effect Aug. 1 with the first bills arriving to customers in September.
