Gas bills doubled this year
Published 12:00 am Saturday, January 6, 2001
METAIRIE – If your heating with gas this year, you may have to pay more than twice as much in heating bills as you did last year.
“Based on gas cost increases, the average residential customer who paid approximately $36 for gas service in December 1999 could see a December 2000 gas bill of $77. And winter gas consumption can be as much as four times higher than summer consumption, making the increased gas rates even more noticeable,” said Ricky Burke, vice president and general manager of Louisiana Gas.
Winter gas bills, which are usually painless in comparison to summer electric bills in Louisiana, are unexpectedly high this month as a result of record-high fuel costs. Like crude oil and gasoline, well head prices of natural gas have increased significantly over the past 12 months.
Wholesale gas prices are close to 250 percent higher than they were at this time last year, from $2.36 to $7.90 per thousand cubic feet of natural gas. This increase is reflected in the Purchase Gas Adjustment rate. The PGA rate is a charge used to recover the actual cost of fuel purchased by Louisiana Gas from numerous suppliers. These suppliers set their prices based on a free market economy. When demand increases so do fuel costs. The PGA rate is adjusted monthly to compensate for fuel cost changes. It is the largest portion of the volumetric rate charged to customers. Louisiana Gas makes no profit on the PGA rate.
The December PGA rate has increased proportionately. December 1999 PGA was 30 cents per hundred cubic feet. This December the PGA rate is 99 cents per hundred feet.
“Like our customers, we sincerely hope that gas prices will soon return to lower levels. Unfortunately, industry experts are not predicting wholesale gas costs to decrease any time soon,” said Burke.
To lessen the impact of higher gas costs, the following tips can help save money on household energy costs this winter:
- Set thermostats to 65-70 degrees during the day and at least 5 degrees lower when sleeping. Warmer temperatures are recommended for homes with ill or elderly persons and infants.
- Lower thermostats to 58 degrees when away from home for more than a few hours. Less energy is used to bring your home up to the desired temperature than is used to maintain that temperature level.
- Close vents and doors in unused areas of the home.
- Change or clean filters in heating units at least twice a year and have the system regularly maintained by a qualified contractor.
- When shopping for new equipment, compare efficiency ratings and annual operating costs. A slightly higher initial cost for a high-efficiency system can be recovered through lower utility bills.
