Your monthly utility bills are going up. Here's why.

DALLAS - You may notice a price increase on a couple of your monthly bills.

As Texas tries to build up reserves for utility repairs and telecom access, customers will see a spike. But that headline may be bigger than a headache you will actually face.

The Public Utility Commission is increasing fees to beef up the Texas Universal Service Fund, the pot of money that helps Texans get access to basic telecom services.

The charge is calculated by multiplying the basic service portion of the total bill by the percentage rate, which just jumped from 3% to 24%. 

That sounds like it is a huge, huge deal, but keep in mind that it only applies to the voice portion of your bill. It doesn’t apply to data or texting.

On average, it’s now about a $4 fee.  That’s why your phone bill was slightly higher this month.

The PUC says they plan to reduce it in about a year once their reserves are built back up.

The PUC also approved a hike for your electric bill.

The companies which distribute electricity, like Oncor and Centerpoint, impose a set fee and also a variable fee based on your consumption.

While the fixed fee isn’t jumping, the variable one is. But for Oncor customers, we're talking less than a penny per kilowatt-hour.

Generally, the fee increases about this time each year as the utilities have to increase their reserves for damage to distribution lines, which may come during the winter months.

The fee will generally drop after bad weather season is over.