Columbia Gas customers seeing large rate increase this winter - WKYT

Columbia Gas customers seeing large rate increase this winter

LEXINGTON, Ky. (WKYT) - Columbia Gas has increased its rate this past quarter.

The utility company tells us the adjustment is a 69% or $2 increase from the previous quarter.

How does this impact people struggling to pay the bills?

“Well, it does make it more difficult for them to pay their gas bills, so we are actually seeing a 10% increase during subsidy of natural gas clients coming in and seeking assistance,” said Shelly Howard with Kentucky River Foothills.

Kentucky River Foothills is a community action agency that, in part, helps those who need assistance paying heating bills in the winter.

Howard hears from her clients who are just trying to get through another cold season.

“They’re struggling to pay it, and they say it makes it harder because everybody who has a gas bill also has an electric bill, so there’s two utility bills that they are trying to pay,” said Howard. “And it’s a struggle because gas bills have gone up.”

A WKYT viewer noticed his Columbia Gas bill from November to December has more than doubled. His November bill was $43, while his December bill was $96.

We asked Columbia Gas why the increase. They sent us a statement saying:

Columbia Gas adjusts its natural gas cost quarterly. The adjustment effective Nov. 28 is $5.0897 per Mcf (1,000 cubic feet). While that cost is a 69.5 percent, or $2.0876 increase from the previous quarter, it is a 48 percent drop from the same quarter of last year, when the rate was $9.7614 per Mcf.

Howard says on top of this news, LIHEAP, the federally funded program to assist with utility bills, has recently ended. She tells us she’s seen some recent bills as high as $170.

“It’s a little bit less than what last year was, but it’s still a very high gas bill for a month of service, and our concern is the gas prices will keep rising,” said Howard.

Howard says applications for the LIHEAP program will start again on January 9.

Columbia Gas says the utility does not mark up or profit on the sale of natural gas to its customers, and the company’s quarterly gas cost adjustment is reviewed and approved by the Kentucky Public Service Commission.

Go to Columbia Gas’s website for information on payment assistance.

Copyright 2023 WKYT. All rights reserved.