Chilling Energy Bills Soon to Confront Chilly Orange County, Calif., Residents Source: Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News Publication date: 2000-11-29

Nov. 29--Orange County consumers who cranked up their heaters when cold weather rolled in soon will pay equally chilling natural-gas bills. November's bills landing in Orange County mailboxes this week, averaging $45 per household, are up 50 percent from last year. December prices are expected to average $80 per household.

Those prices are even higher than those The Gas Co. predicted last month when it warned winter gas bills would rise from last year.

The Gas Co. revised its previous estimates upward Tuesday, saying next month's prices will be 60 percent higher than December 1999.

"If the weather stays cold and the usage increases, the dollar amounts will be even higher than that," said company spokeswoman Denise King.

Natural-gas supplies, stored in underground wells, are down about 9 percent from last year. When increased demand arrived earlier than normal, it aggravated a tight supply-and-demand ratio, said Claudia Chandler, California Energy Commission spokeswoman.

November gas consumption was up 20 percent from a year ago, King said. Orange County's mid-November temperatures averaged 10 degrees below normal.

Consumers will pay more because they are using more, and because the gas costs more. The commodity's price in October was twice that of a year earlier, the federal Energy Information Administration said.

The costs to transport natural gas to California also are up significantly, Chandler said. About 84 percent of natural gas used here comes from other states and Canada.

The price of gas makes up about 60 percent of a customer's bill, King said. The other portion reflects the costs of delivering it. Gas is partially deregulated, but nearly all Orange County households buy it from The Gas Co.

Increased demand for electricity also is affecting gas prices. Natural gas is used to make electricity, Chandler said. When nuclear power plants tripped off-line last week, that forced power plants that use natural gas to increase their electricity production, drawing down natural-gas supplies.

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-- Martin Thompson (mthom1927@aol.com), November 30, 2000