Many Bay Area residents may have noticed their natural gas prices soared without warning. Consumer Investigator Chris Chmura finds out why.
At Mark Zinman’s Moraga home, his gas bill just ignited change.
“When I got that bill I was a little alarmed,” he said. “So, I tried turning down the thermostat, using less gas.”
December’s PG&E bill was $575; of that, $400 was for gas. So, Zinman’s furnace got a new setting.
“I was setting it at 68 or 69 degrees,” he said. “When that bill came in for $575, I set it back to 66… or 65 when we sleep at night.” He expected that conservation to pay off in January. It didn’t.
“The next bill came, and we used less, but it was still $575. And it was still a $400 gas bill portion,” he said. “You feel a little out of control.”
You’re likely in the same boat. Perhaps you’ve heard PG&E and its counterparts’ explanation: demand was up and wholesale gas prices spiked.
San Diego Gas spoke with our sister station, NBC 7 Responds.“This increase is much larger than we ever could have anticipated,” said Candace Hadley, a utility spokesperson.
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