Oklahomans Gas Bills Skyrocket After Cold Snap

Oklahoma Natural Gas customers knew it was coming after a month of record snows and record lows, but it's never easy to adjust when a huge gas bill comes in the mail. Now many Oklahomans are having to find a way to pay their heft bills.

Thursday, January 21st 2010, 9:22 pm

By: News 9


By Gan Matthews, NEWS 9

OKLAHOMA CITY -- Oklahoma Natural Gas customers knew it was coming after a month of record snows and record lows, but it's never easy to adjust when a huge gas bill comes in the mail. Now many Oklahomans are having to find a way to pay their heft bills.

When the temperature goes down, the demand for natural gas goes up. When the temperature goes way down, the demand goes way up and so does the bill.

Last month Lindsay Cobb got a gas bill for $35. This month she got one for $107.

"Well, I thought it would go up a little bit because I turned the heater up whenever the blizzard came, but I wasn't expecting it to triple like it did," Cobb said.

The ONG call center has been fielding a lot of calls from customers like Cobb, who are worried about their new bill and wondering how they're going to pay it. Spot checking by ONG finds residential bills are commonly about 20 percent higher than last month.

"The irony is, the cost of natural gas is actually less this winter than it was last winter. But our bills are larger because we have used more," said Don Sherry, ONG spokesperson.

On January 8, ONG customers used 1.5 billion cubic feet of gas to heat their homes, but all Lindsay Cobb knows is that she has a big bill to pay.

"I will be able to pay it, but I'm not happy about it," Cobb said.

ONG recommends customers sign up for its average payment plan that exchanges higher payments in summer for lower payments in winter.

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