Natural gas rates increased effective June 1.

The increase is a result of The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) authorizing an increase in the natural gas rates charged by the Texas Eastern Transmission Corporation.

Texas Eastern is the wholesale supplier of natural gas to Union Electric customers in the former SEMO District service area of the Missouri Utilities Company.

Under previous rates, a typical residential customer using approximately 36 cubic feet of gas in the month of June would have paid $21.24 for that gas. As a result of this wholesale supplier change, that same customer will pay $22.29 instead. This represents an increase of approximately 4.9 percent.

About 60 to 70 percent of a customer's natural gas bill reflects the cost of natural gas from the wholesale supplier. Wholesale supplier rates fluctuate several times during the year.

Union Electric serves approximately 22,000 natural gas customers in the former SEMO District service area of the Missouri Utilities Company, which includes the Missouri counties of Cape Girardeau, Stoddard and Scott.