Wednesday, August 12, 1998 |
Customers can look for big changes in winter's heating bills
When Fayette residents received their gas bill
this past month, they might have received a big shock.
As part of last year's deregulation of Atlanta
Gas Light, the company is preparing for
competition starting Nov.1. The first changes customers
may have noticed is that the base charges in gas bills
are now annualized.
By annualizing the bill, the company levels the bill for the consumer and the customer pays
roughly the same amount each month. By doing this
customers are receiving higher summer bills and
creating confusion for consumers.
After Nov.1, Atlanta Gas will not be selling
gas directly to consumers, but will deliver gas for
marketing companies that offer competitive rates
to homes and businesses. Because of the increased competition, the gas company has to separate
the cost of the gas from the cost of the delivery.
Along with the changing of the billing, the
Public Service Commission is still trying to determine
how to assess certain transitional costs consumers
must pay to convert from a Atlanta Gas's monopoly
run system to a free market system.
Despite more than 30 companies lining up to offer service at competitive rates, PSC
officials expect average customers to see an increase of
3-7 percent on their total bill. Though the increase
may be significant to many consumers, PSC
officials noted that the utility has not raised rates since 1993.
The utility is also implementing a new late
charge effective with late July bills. Through July
bill inserts, the utility notified customers last month
that a penalty of 1 percent or $10, whichever is
greater, would be applied to late bills. At the urging of
the PSC, Atlanta Gas has agreed to reduce the late charge to 1 percent or $5 and will only apply it
to delinquent balances of $15 or more.
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