Indiana Gas rates will hit the ceiling as temps fall

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Gas rates will hit the ceiling as temps fall By Laura Paul / Correspondent

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MERRILLVILLE - Patricia Jordan of Gary is not wishing for a white Christmas if it means turning up her thermostat. In fact, the idea of global warming doesn't sound so bad in light of the latest increase in her utility bill.

Jordan thought it was difficult to pay her NIPSCO bill last year, but that was nothing compared to the 58.96 percent increase she'll see this month over last December. The most recent increase announced Tuesday also represents a 1.88 percent jump over November rates.

"It will affect me very badly," said Jordan, who works and receives no assistance for her utility bills. "It will be a strain. It was rough last year. I have to pay so much to keep it turned on."

Jordan, like many other residents in Northwest Indiana, are thinking of ways to conserve energy to deal with the latest increase in gas cost adjustment.

"I have to put plastic over the windows and try to keep it under control," she said. "I try to the best I can. It's ridiculous. It doesn't make any sense."

Officials with the Northern Indiana Public Service Co. say the increase does not represent a rate increase but a supply charge passed onto customers.

A customer who uses 200 therms of natural gas during December should expect to pay $63.42 more than last December.

Regina Biddings, utility communications director for NIPSCO, said the company has little control over the supply availability of natural gas and the fluctuations of gas prices.

She said the issue is a national problem, not local or regional.

"I have likened it to issues we have seen at the gas pump with prices," Biddings said. "The individual supplier at the pump, do they control the price? They are passing on to us the price they have to pay when you fill up your car. This is very similar to that. NIPSCO is a distributor, but we don't produce it."

Mary Beth Fisher, public information officer with the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission, said NIPSCO's gas cost adjustment is not out of the ordinary with the ongoing price increases.

"Most everyone is paying more for natural gas this year than they did last year, and they are asking to pass that increase on to the customer," Fisher said.

Biddings said NIPSCO officials have been talking about the increase in natural gas commodity prices since summer because they knew about the shortage.

"We knew if the temperatures dipped the way they are predicting it to go down, this is going to be an issue," Biddings said. "We have been trying to prepare our customers. We know what we have to pay for the gas and because we are out there looking for the best possible prices we negotiate with several pipelines and suppliers to get the best prices."

The good news is since the increase to residents' bills does not reflect a rate increase, customers should see their costs go down as the cost of natural gas decreases.

In the meantime, customers can receive help in managing their bills with a budget plan or through the NIPSCO Choice program where customers can choose an alternative natural gas supplier.

"We have really been encouraging people to look at energy conservation," Biddings said. "I think out of all the things people can do, that's real. You can decrease the number of times you open and close the doors, seal cracks and windows and look at your own habits within your own span of control."

http://www.post-trib.com/news/story5/index.html

-- Martin Thompson (mthom1927@aol.com), December 06, 2000


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