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Natural gas costs may increase this winter
Many natural gas customers in Fairfax County may be facing higher gas bills this winter.
Washington Gas, which serves more than 200,000 Fairfax County residents, announced last week that its customers should prepare for up to a 20 percent increase in heating bills over last winter.
But Bob Innes, spokesperson for Columbia Gas, which serves about 13,000 county residents, told The Times last week that Columbia does not anticipate an increase at this time. In fact, Columbia instituted a 12 percent rate decrease in late August.
When asked about this, Washington Gas spokesman Rubin Rodriguez said he could not explain the differences in the two companies' expenditures.
"Because we are regulated, we pay the same amount for what we buy," he said.
Gas supply costs -- the amount both companies pay to acquire natural gas – comprise about two-thirds of the average customer’s heating bill.
This price generally appears on a customer’s bill as the per “therm” charge.
By law, utilities like Washington and Columbia are required to pass the costs they pay for natural gas through to the consumer on a dollar-for-dollar basis without markup. The remainder of a customer’s bill consists of delivery costs, taxes or other fees levied by state and local governments.
Both companies say that seasonal demand based on colder weather affects prices.
“We began our planning to meet customers’ winter needs well in advance of the heating season,” said Adrian Chapman, vice president of operations, regulatory affairs and energy acquisition at Washington Gas.
“A large portion of our natural gas supply was purchased this summer and stored for the winter at prices that were locked in,” Chapman explained. “Another significant portion of supply was purchased earlier in the year at rates that were capped. Both approaches will assist in protecting customers against seasonal price increases when the weather gets extremely cold and demand increases.”
Innes said that last winter, temperatures were 8 percent warmer than expected, but The Old Farmer's Almanac predicts that this winter, temperatures could dip two degrees below normal, on average. "We don't anticipate any rate increases right now," he said. "But that may change come late November."
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