Wednesday, March 7, 2001
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Wednesday, March 7, 2001 |
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Hecht natural gas bill passes State Sen. Greg Hecht's Natural Gas Bill of Rights has passed the Senate. Senate Bill 217 will gain relief for natural gas consumers, Hecht said. The bill penalizes natural gas marketers for anti-competitive practices, requires separate uniform information on gas bills, requires timely bills, and expands the universal service fund to help elderly Georgians in times of emergency. Hecht, who represents north Fayette and portions of three other counties, said the bill will make it easier for consumers to deal with gas companies. First, the bill allows a natural gas consumer to switch from one gas marketer to another at least one time within any 12-month period without a service charge. The provision ensures that a natural gas marketer can not lock a customer into its service without competition. "The difference in December between one gas marketer and another gas marketer for the same amount of gas was $120," Hecht said. "This is a significant amount of money for a person on a fixed income, for a surviving spouse, for our families, for our farmers, for our small businesses, and for all retail customers," he added. Giving consumers the ability to switch companies will help ensure competition to drive prices downward, Hecht said. "If there is a $120 difference in a bill for the same amount of gas, then wellhead prices are not the only reason for higher gas prices," he said. "Competition must be real to drive down the price of gas, and this bill helps accomplish it." Secondly, the bill requires all gas marketers to bill all customers each and every month within 30 days of the monthly meter reading. "From now on, the law is going to prohibit three- and six-month-old bills which approach $1,000, which most families can not pay at one time," Hecht said. "The bill will prohibit the gas marketer from utilizing a high natural gas owed to the company to prevent the customer from moving from one marketer to another marketer as well." Third, the bill requires marketers to put four categories of information separately on the bill: how much gas a person used, the price per therm, the distribution charge (the cost of transferring the gas through the pipelines), and any service charges such as late fees or similar items. Also, the bill provides for comparative information regarding gas prices to be distributed to consumers in a quarterly newsletter by the PSC and through Georgia Public Television. The comparative price information will help consumers know which marketer is charging the lowest price for natural gas. Along with this uniform information provision, the bill prohibits a marketer from reporting a customer to the credit bureau based on a disputed bill without conferring with a customer in good faith or gaining an actual judgment in a court of law first. Along the same line, the bill requires the Public Service Commission to compose rules to provide dispute resolution requirements on marketers with retail customers related to disputed bills. The next provision of the bill allows for emergency price protection by the Public Service Commission if there is clear and convincing evidence of collusion or price fixing, any time there are three or fewer marketers serving a market. The purpose of this provision is to stop price fixing. The bill also provides for universal service fund expansion. The universal service fund expansion provides emergency relief for elder, fixed income, and low income individuals who are hit by high bills especially in times of emergency such as a bitter winter. In addition, the universal service fund is expanded to provide assistance for retail customers to improve their homes with energy conservation efforts. "This Natural Gas Bill of Rights is critical to all of Georgia's citizens and businesses," said Hecht. "It is a first step. I have also passed a study committee resolution to look at further improvements to help our citizens," he said. Hecht called for a joint state/federal energy policy to encourage reserving, so that a larger supply of natural gas exists for demand. "When a larger supply is in existence, the price of natural gas will go down. We need to do much more as well to protect our consumers. However, this is a good start," he said.
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