SoCal Gas would like to share this message with residents.
"Natural gas prices in the Western United States have more than doubled over the last month, in part because of a cold snap across the nation in recent weeks. As a result, our customers can expect to see higher gas bills in the coming weeks.
We offer many accessible tools to help you cut down on energy usage and help lower your bills amidst the rising costs. We encourage customers to sign up for weekly Bill Tracker Alerts to monitor gas consumption, take steps to reduce usage, and avoid bill surprises. Alerts can be sent through email or text and include a bill-to-date and projected next bill amount to help you manage your energy bills as easily as possible.
Eligible customers may also sign up for a Level Pay Plan (LPP) that averages their annual natural gas use and costs over 12 months.
Several unprecedented events occurring simultaneously over the last few weeks have contributed to the rising price of natural gas:
- Widespread, below-normal temperatures
- High natural gas consumption
- Reduced natural gas flows
- Pipeline constraints, including maintenance in West Texas by the companies that own those pipelines.
For more information on natural gas prices and predictions, visit https://www.eia.gov/naturalgas/weekly/.
Customers can expect to see large changes in their natural gas bills this winter due to the rise in natural gas prices. If your residential peak winter bill was around $65 last winter, you can expect to see bills closer to $160 this year. Similarly, if it was around $130 last winter, customers can expect to see bills around $315 this year.
These increases are primarily due to increases in the price of gas and to a much lesser extent increased transportation rates. Our rates for the transportation of natural gas are set by the California Public Utilities Commission, which reviews these rates yearly.
Here are some tips to help customers reduce natural gas usage, and some of these tips may be useful to you:
- Lowering your thermostat three to five degrees can save up to 10 percent on heating costs.
- Installing proper caulking and weather-stripping can save roughly 10 to 15 percent on heating and cooling bills.
- Washing clothes in cold water saves up to 10 percent on water heating costs.
- Consider turning down the temperature on your water heater.
- Limit the use of non-essential natural gas appliances such as spas, pool heaters, and fireplaces.
Our Ways to Save Energy-Saving Tool can provide you with a customized analysis of your energy usage that can help you track your energy efficiency progress and help lower bills. It’s a helpful tool that won the “Global Power and Energy Elites 2022 Award” for its innovative use of data and analysis.
And we have a number of assistance programs that range from past due bill forgiveness, CARE program (bill discount,) and free energy efficiency home improvements through the Energy Savings Assistance Program.
For more information on bills and how to lower your costs, please visit socalgas.com/ManageHigherBills."
|