DALLAS (1080 KRLD) - After a year of work in west Dallas, Atmos is turning to the city, claiming it needs help paying for expenses.
Last year, a gas explosion in west Dallas killed 12 year old Linda Rogers, and forced others to evacuate temporarily. Since then, Atmos has replaced miles of old pipelines. However, they now want the city to sign off on a rate hike for their customers, saying that doing so would help them offset their expenses.
That proposal has drawn mixed reactions from neighbors in west Dallas, who still remember the several weeks of uncertainty as they were forced to make other living arrangements.
At the state level, representative Rafael Anchia, whose district includes west Dallas, is pushing forward legislation to increase people's safety. Some ideas he has include stiffer fines for gas companies for safety violations, and better communication of where leaks have been found. Specifically, Anchia is calling for interacive maps to show where leaks have been found, as well as a mandatory 72 hours for gas companies to inform people of a leak in their neighborhood.
Should Atmos's request for a rate increase be approved, the average customer could pay up to $3 more each month.