WICHITA — Your natural gas bill is going to go up this winter.
Natural gas prices run nearly double what they did a year ago and experts predict the increased prices to last at least through the winter.
Utility companies pass the cost of natural gas directly on to their customers. As the price of wholesale natural gas increases, so will the fee your utility charges every month.
For Kansas Gas Service customers, that fee this month is $5.67 per thousand cubic feet of gas used. Last October it was only $3.76.
Other large gas utilities have made similar increases.
The Atmos Energy gas purchase fee this month is nearly $1.50 more than last year. At Black Hills Energy it’s more than $3 more.
“Right now, what we see is a relatively tight market, and higher prices signalling that more (gas) supplies are needed on the market,” said Richard Meyer, vice-president of the American Gas Association that represents natural gas utilities.
The U.S. Energy Information Agency said a few things are causing strain on natural gas supply that contribute to higher-than-normal natural gas prices.
First, the amount of gas in underground storage is lower than normal. That’s partly caused by February’s winter storm that set record cold temperatures for much of the central U.S. It’s also caused by increased usage by gas-fired power plants during a particularly hot August.
Hurricane Ida also cut natural gas production and supplies.
While the EIA expects many of those supply issues to get resolved, it said the price will likely remain high all winter.
If it does, the average Kansan could see a monthly bill increase as much as $100 higher than last year.
Kansas Gas Service spokeswoman Dawn Tripp said the company has several tools to help keep the cost of gas down even as market prices rise.
The company has purchased and stored large amounts of gas this summer when prices were generally lower. It also will enter into long- and medium-term contracts to try to lock a price in and hedge against future increases.
“By doing that, we’re able to place a price cap on a portion of our winter supply,” Tripp said.
