Selma residents to pay $28.66 more per month for natural gas

By Steven Jones
The Selma Times-Journal
The average Selma resident will be paying $28.66 more per month on their gas bill, after rate increases from Alagasco take effect this winter, according to company officials.
Alabama Gas Corporation (Alagasco) said its rates had to increase, citing problems with natural gas supplies as the result of Katrina and Rita.
“Coupled with already short supplies, we had to increase our charge,” Mixon Russ, head of the Selma office of Alagasco, said.
Gas company officials said the supply lines to Alabama have been damaged by the spate of hurricanes sweeping the Gulf Coast recently.
While prices may dip a little in the coming months, as supply lines are repaired, Russ said the increase is here to stay.
“We’re not looking for it to go down appreciably any time in the near future,” he said.
Rates will increase a total of about 37 percent for the entire year including utility taxes, or about $344, Russ said.
The increase is significant, Russ said, but he was pleased that Alagasco was able to keep rates lower than the national increase in energy prices.
“I would like to stress there is a national problem,” Russ said. “We were fortunate this year to have our rates not go as high as (other) natural gas utilities.”
Russ said the company managed to keep prices low because Alagasco bought natural gas futures before the shortage occurred.
“That’s due to some price hedging we’ve done,” he said. “The public service commission gave Alabama Gas the ability to go out and buy gas in the future. So we went out and bought futures.”
Russ said buying natural gas futures can be risky, but the strategy definitely paid off.
Customers can help keep prices down, Russ said, by conserving energy as much as possible in the winter months.
“Keep the demand down,” he said.
Among Alagasco tips for reducing energy costs, customers can keep their thermostats set lower and - if possible - buy some of the newer models of gas powered appliances on the market now.
“Some of the new equipment is more efficient than the older equipment,” he said.

For more information on energy saving tips, go online to www.alagasco.com\