PSC concludes talks on CenterPoint rates
A hearing on CenterPoint Energy's request for a rate increase concluded Wednesday at the Arkansas Public Service Commission.
Four parties to the case -- CenterPoint, the commission's general staff, Arkansas Gas Consumers Inc. and the University of Arkansas System -- have agreed to a $14.2 million revenue increase for the utility. The Arkansas attorney general is the only party that stands in opposition.
The commission likely won't reach a decision in the case until September.
Under the proposal, residential customers will see a $15.3 million annual increase and commercial customers will see slight declines in rates. A residential customer with a $100 monthly bill will be billed $109.65 if the commission approves the request.
When it filed for the rate increase in November, CenterPoint, the largest natural gas utility in Arkansas with about 408,000 customers, sought a $35 million increase in rates.
-- David Smith
2 Batesville hotels sold; upgrades set
Two hotels in Batesville -- the 65-room Holiday Inn Express and the 123-room Ramada Inn -- have been sold, according to a hotel brokerage firm.
Both hotels will retain the same franchise status and undergo significant improvements, with the Holiday Inn Express getting $1 million in renovations, HotelBrokerOne said in a news release.
"The Express was re-licensed under the condition of meeting Holiday Inn Express' new 'Formula Blue' standards," said the broker's vice president, Ted Holmes.
The sale represents two of the five hotels in the Batesville market.
-- Stephen Steed
Index gives up 0.08 in slow trading day
The Arkansas Index, a price-weighted index that tracks the largest public companies based in the state, fell 0.08 to 341.26 on Wednesday.
The Arkansas Index dropped slightly as 10 stocks declined and 8 stocks advanced.
"U.S. stocks were mixed in a quiet trading session on Wednesday as stocks consolidated their gains following record high closes for both the Dow Jones industrial average and S&P 500 yesterday," said John Blackwell, managing director of equity trading at Stephens Inc.
Total volume for the index was 19.6 million shares.
The index was developed by Bloomberg News and the Democrat-Gazette with a base value of 100 as of Dec. 30, 1997.
Business on 07/14/2016