Some Wood County residents face gas bills way higher than normal, say company gave conflicting answers

WOOD Co., Ohio (WTVG) — Residents in a neighborhood near Williamsburg Lake are facing natural gas bills far higher than usual, with some reporting charges more than 10 times their typical monthly amount.

Neighbors say they have not received a clear explanation from their provider, Suburban Natural Gas Company.

Frannie McKinney said her bill jumped from $74.14 to more than $1,000. Roland Southard said his bills over the past 12 months ranged from $43 to $95 before spiking to $723.

When residents contacted Suburban Natural Gas Company, they said they were given different reasons for the increases.

“She said, I’m not sure, but it could be the unusually cold weather that we had, and also the war,” McKinney said. “And I said to her uh-uh… this is not right. How do you go from $74 to this? Something is wrong.”

Southard said the company told him meters had not been read and that bills were based on estimates. McKinney said when some neighbors called, they were told the meters were broken.

“Everyone has been calling, and they were told that the meters were all broken; we’ve all been given another line,” McKinney said.

Neighbors say the increases came without warning and that they will likely be forced to pay the bills to avoid having their heat shut off. They also noted that Suburban Natural Gas Company is their only option for gas service in the area.

Southard, who said he has lived in the neighborhood for 30 years without similar issues, called for accurate billing practices.

“Accurate accounting, because again I shouldn’t be using December’s, November’s and October’s usage based on January’s increase,” Southard said. “That should’ve all been taken care of based on what the market value was the month that it was estimated.”

McKinney said the situation needs to be resolved.

“Well, something is totally wrong with this; it just needs to be corrected,” McKinney said.

13 Action News reached out to Suburban Natural Gas Company for comment and had not received a response as of airtime.

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