Natural gas rates

[lessel]

Where I grew up everything was electric, so even though I've had natural gas for the past almost 2 decades as an adult, it still is foreign to me. The whole thing with choosing a 'marketer' and variable rates or fixed rates for 6-, 12-, 18- month terms, etc. just seems so strange. Like, just send me a bill--this is all too much inside baseball. I feel like we were paying .50 - .60 'per therm' rates for the past few years, doing 12-month terms. Earlier this year we had to renew and the rate was like .74 and that seemed high so I hedged a bet and only went with a 6-month term. Today, I got an email that I have to renew and the rates are up over 1.05. Yeesh. So I googled and of course like 2 days ago prices hit a 14-year high: www.cnn.com/2022/08/17/energy/natural-gas-inflation-heat-wave/index.html.

Mostly this is just a vent, because I clearly did not time the natural gas price market and bet well, but man... this sucks on top of all the other things still being high. 

[RockNVoll]

This must be #regional. I've had natural gas for decades and rates are set; we just get a bill.

[pierogigirl]

I agree #regional. Our bill comes with our electric bill (we have gas heat and dryer, and electric hot water and a/c). I don't even think I could switch to a different provider - maybe a bit of a monopoly situation going on here.

[lessel]

What?! Ugh, that’s even more annoying!

I’m in GA and we have to like shop around with different “marketers” who have different rate plans. I’ve been lazy and just stuck with the same one since we moved here in 2006. But shopping around now doesn’t seem to be getting me any kind of better deal for more than like a one-month intro rate.

psc.ga.gov/utilities/natural-gas/marketers-pricing-index/

[RockNVoll]

Yeah, there's no shopping around generally. Every place I've ever lived (multiple cities in MA and CA) has one provider for your area. This is true of both gas and electric.

[sadlebred]

Aug 19, 2022 19:19:34 GMT -5 lessel said:

What?! Ugh, that’s even more annoying!

I’m in GA and we have to like shop around with different “marketers” who have different rate plans. I’ve been lazy and just stuck with the same one since we moved here in 2006. But shopping around now doesn’t seem to be getting me any kind of better deal for more than like a one-month intro rate.

psc.ga.gov/utilities/natural-gas/marketers-pricing-index/

I'm in GA as well. Call around and see if anyone is running a special per therm if you switch. Sometimes they offer bill credits for 3-6 months instead. My marketer usually matches any offer I've gotten in the mail/printed. The base rates are pretty close, but you have to really look to see the differences in price. I'm paying $.87/therm, which is what it was when I renewed in June for 12 months. I prefer a fixed rate plan. For comparison, I was paying about $.40/therm the last 2ish years in a 1 year contract.

For the benefit of everyone not in GA......So, in GA you have a natural gas provider. There is one-Atlanta Gas Light; you don't get a choice. It's like the power company. You also have a marketer, who bills you for your gas service. The rates are published monthly on the Public Service Commission website along with an "apples to apples" comparison price per therm. That takes in account the base rate, whatever crap they charge you for, and your actual gas usage. It's a pain to switch. I'm lazy.

[sadlebred]

Aug 19, 2022 19:01:37 GMT -5 pierogigirl said:

I agree #regional. Our bill comes with our electric bill (we have gas heat and dryer, and electric hot water and a/c). I don't even think I could switch to a different provider - maybe a bit of a monopoly situation going on here.

Georgia de-regulated the natural gas industry in 1998, which is when it became complicated.

The power company is still the power company; you don't get a choice.

[lessel]

[mention]sadlebred [/mention]

Thanks, that’s a helpful explanation. I never realized this was different than elsewhere. I guess it just feels like the marketers are middle men. Like if you have a gas leak or need gas physically turned on, etc. it’s the Atlanta Gas Light trucks that show up. So why can’t I just buy direct from them vs. pay for these middle companies to essentially just sell me the AGL product. It seems weird. And a hassle. And I doubt it’s resulting in people getting better deals.

Like, I have to make sense of this terrible spreadsheet to deduce who has the lowest rates:

psc.ga.gov/site/assets/files/6964/august_2022_fixed_pricing.pdf

🫤

Oh well. I’ll try to call around because higher than a buck per therm going into the season when my gas bill increases is gonna majorly suck.

[mainelyfoolish]

I live where the predominant heat sources are oil and propane and trying to find the best price and decide whether to sign a contract to lock in a price for a heating season or take the market rate whenever you need a fill is maddening. The big difference between this and what you describe with your natural gas supply is that there is no utility delivery involved; you just find a company to deliver your fuel. I grew up outside of the Northeast and when I first moved here, I was shocked that I had to figure all this stuff out myself. At least with natural gas or electricity, you don’t have to worry about forgetting to fill your tank and running out of heat in the middle of the night (which necessitates a pricey emergency delivery and service call to get your heat running again).

We installed heat pumps in our house four years ago; now all of our heating costs are incorporated into our electric bill (and it’s cheaper than heating with oil). No regrets.

[sadlebred]

Aug 20, 2022 9:06:42 GMT -5 mainelyfoolish said:

I live where the predominant heat sources are oil and propane and trying to find the best price and decide whether to sign a contract to lock in a price for a heating season or take the market rate whenever you need a fill is maddening. The big difference between this and what you describe with your natural gas supply is that there is no utility delivery involved; you just find a company to deliver your fuel. I grew up outside of the Northeast and when I first moved here, I was shocked that I had to figure all this stuff out myself. At least with natural gas or electricity, you don’t have to worry about forgetting to fill your tank and running out of heat in the middle of the night (which necessitates a pricey emergency delivery and service call to get your heat running again).

My biggest surprise about 10 years ago was finding out that a lot of houses in the Northeast don't have central air conditioning. Pretty much anything built after 1955 in the South does, but we are hot for 6 months of the year. I have a gas furnace, so I get to deal with the gas marketers and the power company.

[simpsongal]

sadlebred, yup - we had hot summers at the Jersey shore but didn't have central AC put in until I was in college. My folks built their home in 1987, but AC is expensive.

Ugh to the shopping around for utilities, how annoying.

[sadlebred]

simpsongal I grew up visiting my grandparents, who lived at the Jersey shore. They window units in the main BR and the huge "kids" BR upstairs that had 3 queen beds for guests. They kept the windows open for the breezes to cool the rest of the house. My brother and I were miserable. We grew up with central AC.

Trust me, I know how expensive it is. I had to replace my entire HVAC system 12 years ago. Hoping I can get another 5 years out of it.

[simpsongal]

sadlebred, I hear you - I remember those endless hot summer nights when there wasn't even a faint breeze. AWFUL. Sometimes we dragged our mattresses into my folks' room w/the AC box unit. And we didn't have cable either - [shakes cane] kidz these days...

I feel like my AC is working overtime to counter the heat and humidity. Praying it holds up a bit longer (I think it's like 17 yrs old??)