WHAT IS MY UTILITY DOING TO HELP CUSTOMERS?
Utilities want what their customers want: an adequate supply of natural gas at affordable prices. Consumers love natural gas – but they do not like surprises. So natural gas utilities take a number of actions to stabilize natural gas prices and help consumers deal with fluctuations in their energy bills: • Billing plans – Most utilities offer balanced-billing plans that allow customers to spread their natural gas costs over many months, which makes it easier for people to handle winter heating bills. • Storage –Natural gas utilities often purchase natural gas during warm-weather months, when it traditionally costs less, and store it for later use on cold winter days. Storage can account for half of some utilities’ natural gas supplies on winter’s coldest days – contributing to reliable service • Hedging – More than half of the states allow utilities to use financial tools such as futures contracts and weather risk insurance to stabilize natural gas prices. By the 2006-2007 winter heati
