Annual choice gas selection time.

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Around here the natural gas is offered in a deregulated form every year or two depending on plan. For many years I used what is called the "Pass On" rate. It looks at the cost on the open market and passes it on with a slight profit to the consumer. A few years ago I used a company that advertised as "Lower than Pass On" for a year. The following two years I opted for a fixed cost by 1000 therm at 27.2 cents. This go-round I changed providers again and locked in to 26.7 per 1000 therm for two years. Anyone else live in a de-regulated market and what are they charging in your area?
 
I'm not in a deregulated area.
I'm in the Denver metro and have Excel energy.
My latest bill shows 88 therms for $50.52.
57 cents a therm.
 
Originally Posted by marine65
I'm not in a deregulated area.
I'm in the Denver metro and have Excel energy.
My latest bill shows 88 therms for $50.52.
57 cents a therm.


Good portion of my bill consists of charges outside the cost of the commodity itself. Transportation/storage/Franchise Fee among others. Quite the ripoff imo.
My summer bills bottom out at maybe $25 and my highest winter bill over the last 5 years was about $180, all gas on all systems including dryer and stove. The electric bill is stupid high in the summer, hitting $200 for a couple months due to the 68 degree thermostat setting. I like a cool home in the summer. That same electric bill may dip to $30 for a couple months in winter.
 
OK, a Therm is approx. equal to 100 cubic feet of gas so for those buying gas in 1000 ft3 measurements it is 10 times the price for a therm.. So for 50 cents per therm, it would be $5.00 per 1000 cubic feet. (approx).
 
I think the therm measurement they use is adjusted for energy content and 1000 cubic feet. It may be 100 but it sticks in my mind as 1000. I will have to revisit it. Keep in mind this is at the meter after pressure lowering iirc.
 
Originally Posted by sloinker
I think the therm measurement they use is adjusted for energy content and 1000 cubic feet. It may be 100 but it sticks in my mind as 1000. I will have to revisit it. Keep in mind this is at the meter after pressure lowering iirc.

What does that have to do with anything?
 
Therm is not a universal measurement used around the world. Up here in Canada it is gigajoules. The natural gas Chicago futures contract is 1000 standard cu ft. The measurement is at agreed upon standard conditions which are 14.7 psi (1 atm) at 60 degree F. The important part is pricing. How is your pricing set so you can compare your gas price with someone else's. The Futures price on Friday was $1.753 per 1000 cubic feet, which converted to Therms is roughly 17.5 cents per therm and then it gets marked up as it travels through the pipeline network and through the final sellers.
 
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The suppliers, about 7 of them show their fixed rate prices per therm, a market rate price and a use as much gas as you want price that is the same bill. The lowest price per month, use as much as you want offered to.me wa $94 a month for two years. I don't have the math skills to figure out the market rate plus adder. My average bill all in has been $69 a month all in the last two years at 27.2 cents/therm. Needless to say I opted for the 26.7 price. Kind of curious what others are paying.
 
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I could get 3.50/1000 cubic feet, but I stayed with the city aggregate at 4.23

cost me about 30 bucks a year more but I dont have to deal with any funky bait and switch or fees etc.

bill is about 32$ with no usage(6 months), tops out around 80$ coldest months
 
My utility passes gas charges through with no markup (they claim), March prices were $0.2345 per therm and April 2020 $0.1553 per therm. Transport and storage also vary monthly, March $0.0629 per therm, April 2020 $0.0850 per therm.

They then tack on a delivery charge... 86.1 therms used last month cost me $61.60
 
Originally Posted by kschachn
Originally Posted by sloinker
I think the therm measurement they use is adjusted for energy content and 1000 cubic feet. It may be 100 but it sticks in my mind as 1000. I will have to revisit it. Keep in mind this is at the meter after pressure lowering iirc.

What does that have to do with anything?


?

1000 cf of gas at pressure is a lot more than 1000cf of gas at near-ambient. I don't think I ever have given thought to how our NG is measured until that post.
 
The Alliance pipeline which delivers natural natural gas to the USA from Canada has a maximum pressure of 1935 psi. Natural gas in local distribution lines is usually less than 60 psi and is regulated down to 0.25 psi above atmospheric pressure when it feeds into your furnace or appliances.
 
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By the way, enjoy your current low priced natural gas. Producers are dropping drilling rigs and letting the fields deplete. There's no money to be made with a futures price of $1.73 per thousand cubic feet. One of the largest natural gas producers in the USA, Chesapeake Energy just did a 20 to 1 stock consolidation. Natural gas producers in the USA and Canada are hurting bad.
 
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Originally Posted by sloinker
Around here the natural gas is offered in a deregulated form every year or two depending on plan. For many years I used what is called the "Pass On" rate. It looks at the cost on the open market and passes it on with a slight profit to the consumer. A few years ago I used a company that advertised as "Lower than Pass On" for a year. The following two years I opted for a fixed cost by 1000 therm at 27.2 cents. This go-round I changed providers again and locked in to 26.7 per 1000 therm for two years. Anyone else live in a de-regulated market and what are they charging in your area?


Not sure on the rate here (we have propane), but we have some friends that paid $6500 for a natural gas line to be ran to their house. It was them and a few other neighbors that had to get in on it or the gas company wouldn't bother. Must be cheap I guess.

What's your gas bill in a month? What do you run with has?
 
Multiply gallons of propane by .916 to get Therms. According to Sloinker, the OP, he paid 27 cents per Therm. That is equivalent to 29.5 cents for an equivalent gallon of propane. So how much is propane in your area? I pay $1.74 U.S. per US gallon. In my area, propane is 6 times the price of natural gas on an energy basis. That $6500 will be paid out in 6500/(1.75-0.295) gallons. The answer is 4467 gallons. So how much propane do you use in a year. Divide 4467 by that and it will tell you in how many years will the natural gas line be paid off.
One caution is that the price of natural gas has to rise significantly in the next 5 years or else the entire US natural gas industry will go bankrupt. Back to the choice of gas contracts, I would lock in for as long as I could. You'll never see cheaper natural gas than right now.
laugh.gif
 
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Yeah, I locked in for two years @ 26.7. I think there is going to be the whipsaw effect. All the drilling and makeover work has ceased pretty much nationwide, everything is being shut in. There is no storage capacity right now for liquids, even all the tankers are full. When the economy does start again and inventory is drawn down the prices for natural gas will skyrocket until production/drilling/makeovers come back on line and then the price will moderate, although I suspect we are at the bottom right now.
 
Originally Posted by JHZR2
1000 cf of gas at pressure is a lot more than 1000cf of gas at near-ambient. I don't think I ever have given thought to how our NG is measured until that post.

Yes, but natural gas is marketed at a standard pressure and temperature so whenever energy content is compared to volume it is comparable. That is why the units is "scf", "standard cubic feet":

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Standard_cubic_foot
 
Originally Posted by Snagglefoot
Multiply gallons of propane by .916 to get Therms. According to Sloinker, the OP, he paid 27 cents per Therm. That is equivalent to 29.5 cents for an equivalent gallon of propane. So how much is propane in your area? I pay $1.74 U.S. per US gallon. In my area, propane is 6 times the price of natural gas on an energy basis. That $6500 will be paid out in 6500/(1.75-0.295) gallons. The answer is 4467 gallons. So how much propane do you use in a year. Divide 4467 by that and it will tell you in how many years will the natural gas line be paid off.
One caution is that the price of natural gas has to rise significantly in the next 5 years or else the entire US natural gas industry will go bankrupt. Back to the choice of gas contracts, I would lock in for as long as I could. You'll never see cheaper natural gas than right now.
laugh.gif



I filled up for $.89 a gallon a few weeks ago.

I guess the line to the house makes perfect sense during these current prices.
 
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