Ohio Customers Can Expect Larger Bills From Columbia Gas
Posted on: Sunday, 18 December 2005, 21:00 CST
By Monique Curet, The Columbus Dispatch, Ohio
Dec. 17--Columbia Gas customers will see their bills rise by 49 percent next month compared with the same period a year ago.
January's average residential bill will be $315.90, up from $212.66 for the first month of 2005.
Columbia said disrupted energy production after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita and colder weather have caused natural-gas prices to rise.
The company said there is a "significant jump in consumption ... between December and January." Consumption normally is highest in January and then tapers off, said Steve Jablonski, communications director for Columbia Gas.
"It's hard to predict whether the trend toward higher prices will continue" through the winter months, Jablonski said. Weather is a factor because customers' monthly gas payments are a combination of the price of natural gas and the amount they use, he said.
Shana Eiselstein, spokeswoman for the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio, said the commission in January allowed Columbia Gas to adjust its prices each month. Before that, the company adjusted its prices quarterly.
PUCO's goal was to ensure that especially during the winter, customers' bills will reflect the market price of natural gas.
The Ohio Office of Consumers' Counsel is "very concerned that some customers may not be able to make ends meet," spokesman Ryan Lippe said.
"The increased natural-gas costs illustrate the need to help the poor afford their heating costs," Lippe said.
This year more money went to programs that assist low-income customers with their heating bills, but he said that it's time to implement permanent funding that would help expand eligibility for such assistance.
Columbia said natural gas will cost $1.57 per 100 cubic feet next month, up from 99 cents this past January. Next month's gas price also is an increase from December's, when gas cost $1.29 per 100 cubic feet.
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NI,
Source: The Columbus Dispatch, Ohio
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