Kentucky Service Agencies Feeling Heat as Natural Gas Bills May Increase by 40%

Source: Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News Publication date: 2000-09-14

Sep. 14--With natural gas and propane bills expected to skyrocket this winter, local service agencies that people look to for help in paying their bills are bracing for more costs and possibly more customers.

"I am panicking because people had a hard enough time with the way it was," said Capt. Peggy Mullins of the Salvation Army.

Western Kentucky Gas, which provides natural gas to 180,000 customers in 163 communities in western and central Kentucky, has issued warnings that peak winter bills could be more than 40 percent higher than last winter. That means a $150 bill would increase to at least $210.

Propane prices are also higher than a year ago. At Tri-State Propane Inc. in Paducah, prices are up 29 percent. Further, Tri-State President Marjo Vancil said Wednesday she doesn't see prices going down anytime soon.

"I don't see it stabilizing," she said. That's why she is encouraging customers to fill their tanks now instead of waiting for lower prices that may not come. Prices at Tri-State Propane Inc. now range from $1.18 to $1.25 a gallon.

Just what's causing the higher prices appears, in part, to be the result of supply and demand. Natural gas company officials point to electric generating power plants as the culprit for their increasing use of natural gas rather than coal. Natural gas companies were not able to buy gas at the traditionally cheaper summer rates and store it for winter use.

Western Kentucky Gas plans to offer its Helping Hand Fuel Assistance Program this winter in which it matches customer contributions up to $15,000 and forwards the funds to the Salvation Army to disperse, said spokesman Tom Higdon. November bills will ask customers to assist people in need.

Such programs help, said Mullins, who along with her husband, Jerry, are co-directors of the Salvation Army that serves McCracken, Marshall and Livingston counties. The Salvation Army paid about 100 gas bills last winter.

So far, the Salvation Army has not come up with a plan to address an increase in demand. "I don't want to say we will turn anyone away," Mullins said. "That's hard on us."

But if available funds can't keep up with the demand, only part of a bill might be paid

Currently, people can request help only once every 18 months, a policy in place so people don't become too dependent on the Salvation Army. There are exceptions for emergencies such as house fires.

The director of the Family Service Society -- another Paducah agency that provides utility assistance -- also sees problems this winter.

"It's getting scary because there's only so much money we have," said Executive Director Karen Mayer. Every penny the agency gets for utility bills is used.

Last year, the agency received about $8,100 in federal money for utilities. In addition, about $4,800 is received each quarter from the United Way, and $2,000 to $3,000 each month in private donations.

The Family Service Society tries to pay a family's entire bill, be it for gas, electricity or water, but maintains the same once-every-18-months policy as the Salvation Army.

The agency in August helped 32 families in Paducah with average monthly bills of $94 each, and 27 McCracken County families each with an average monthly bill of $99, for a total of about $5,700. From January through March this year, the agency spent $6,374 on 98 bills in the city and county. -----

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-- Carl Jenkins (Somewherepress@aol.com), September 18, 2000