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1.09.04 Nebraskans' natural gas bills surge this month Nebraskans will feel the sting of the cold weather in their wallets when they open their January heating bills. Eastern Nebraska residents in particular will pay 9 percent to 21 percent more for gas in January than they did in December. Eastern Nebraska gas prices are at their highest mid-winter level since the record-setting heating season of 2001. January is the coldest month of the year, and a normal January at current prices would mean a typical eastern Nebraskan's gas bill will be somewhere around $170. That's based on 200 therms of gas and varying amounts of sales taxes and other fees. Metropolitan Utilities District customers will be paying 73.12 cents per therm of gas, an increase of 21 percent over December and 26 percent higher than a year ago at this time. Omaha-area customers of Aquila Inc. will be paying 78.122 cents per therm, a 9 percent increase over December and a 35 percent increase over a year earlier. The price of gas is primarily what utilities pay for the gas, an amount that they simply pass along to consumers. The Aquila number overstates the true amount that Aquila customers are paying because the utility is in the midst of a rate negotiation with the state. Later this month, the state is expected to lower Aquila's rates retroactive to October 1. The current proposal is to reduce Aquila's metro area per-therm fee by about 4 cents. Customers will get a refund or credit for the amount they have overpaid. In general, cold weather and market instability are pushing up gas prices, said Jerry Gohr, assistant general manager at M.U.D. While the price is trending upward, market conditions could reduce demand and ease prices, Gohr said. Large industry, for example, may switch to an alternative fuel. Gohr and George Minter, a spokesman for Aquila, said it is hard to predict whether January's price spikes will carry into February. The best thing customers can do, Minter said, is to keep bills low by using less gas. Prices have been running high all winter. A customer's gas bill consists of several portions. The largest is the price that the utilities pay wholesalers for the gas.This is the price that is increasing, and it is a cost that the utilities pass directly on to customers. The gas bill also includes the fees charged by M.U.D. and Aquila to distribute gas. It is this part of Aquila's fees the state is expected to reduce. Both Aquila and M.U.D. have raised rates this winter. But those increases are nominal compared with the impact of rising wholesale prices. |
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