El Paso city council changes the law for the way utility companies repair the street when they're finished working.

KFOX 14 reported on the Roseway project in the Lower Valley in January.

"What happened on Roseway is the gas company had to replace a high pressure gas line," El Paso City Engineer Alan Shubert said.

They initially intended to cut lengthwise down the street, but because of the location of the line, depth of the line and soil conditions they ended up moving half of the street. It ended up being a bigger project than they counted on and ended with a not-so-perfectly done patch job.

"The ordinance didn't require them to replace the whole thing. The city went in and did the other part," Shubert said.

On Tuesday, Rep. Eddie Holguin asked that El Paso's utility companies be required to not only patch parts of the street it destroys but also seal the patch including the area from curb to curb. 

Texas gas services representatives said they're not opposed to the law, but point out street damaged around their patches may already exist. 

"It could be caused by weather and other factors," Pete Parraz of Texas Gas Service said. 

Texas Gas Service representatives also warn the cost for the repairs could be passed down to rate payers. One of them was quoted as saying repair costs would increase some 200 percent. 

"I think that's a very preliminary figure," Parraz said. "Anytime that we make improvements to our system, we are a regulated monopoly. So a lot of those costs are passed on to our customers." 

Holguin told KFOX 14 the gas company is a monopoly and that means it should be able to absorb the added cost.