WICHITA, Kan. (KWCH) – As freezing temperatures continue in Kansas and the region, the concern for some is changing from staying warm to how much it will cost to warm up. Some communities in the state are trying to prepare people for a shock when they open their gas bills for this month.
The price that gas companies pay for gas has risen dramatically. The question is how much will be passed on to customers. For now, it’s a difficult question to answer. Eyewitness News contacted Black Hills Energy and Kansas Gas Service with this question. They both say it’s too early to know how customers will be affected. What we know, we learn from Kansas City, like Hesston and Moundridge. Both have taken steps to prepare their residents for a significant increase in payment for the next energy bill.
Moundridge distributes natural gas to its residents, which it buys from the Kansas Municipal Gas Agency. Moundridge City Administrator Murray McGee said, according to the agency, that the price they pay for a unit of natural gas rose from $ 3 per unit last Monday to $ 329 per unit by Friday.
“We do not know exactly what the final number will look like. We were told to prepare for gas utility bills that could be 10 to 20 times higher than the normal rate, ”McGee said. “So it could have a significant impact on every customer. Of course, it will also have a huge impact on the city of Moundridge. ”
To put this in perspective, using the figures given to McGee, a customer whose gas bill is usually around $ 100 might expect to pay $ 1,000 to $ 2,000 in return. The price paid for natural gas units is the culprit of the great leap.
Black Hills Energy, which serves eight Midwestern states, including 115,000 Kansas customers, said the main focus was to make sure people had gas available. But what Kansans will see on their bills is unclear.
“We try to give our customers as much information as possible,” James Williams told Black Hills Energy. “We want to be honest with the way the situation looks. But there are still a lot of unanswered things for us. ”
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