Saturday, January 29, 2011

Gas Prices Going UP!

How many of you have Centerpoint Energy for your natural gas service and looked at your last bill and noticed they have changed to a tiered pricing model?  Minnesota is the test market for this new pricing in which we pay progressively higher rates for the amount of natural gas we use.  The top tier rates are higher to encourage us to conserve the amount of gas we use.

We live in a house that 2,500 square feet and all we have that runs on gas is our furnace, dryer, and a gas fireplace.  We were not far from hitting the top tier last month. 

Therms per month priced per therm% above the lowest tier:

The first 30 = 41 cents
From 31 to 110 = 58 cents (40% more)
From 111 to 165 = 73 cents (76% more)
From 166 to 200 = 76 cents (83% more)
After 200 = 81 cents (95% more)

One therm equals 100,000 BTU's or about 100 cubic feet of gas.  The chart above was from December with the delivery charge and fuel adjustment not included.

Source:  Centerpoint Energy

I think this is a way for them to increase profits.  At our house we will definitely be looking at ways to decrease our natural gas use and hopefully lower that bill!

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