WICHITA, Canada (KWCH) – As refrigeration temperatures continue in Kansas and the region, some concerns shift from staying warm to how much it will cost to stay warm. Some communities in the state are trying to prepare people for a shock when they open gas bills this month.
The price that gas companies pay for gas has risen dramatically. The question is how much of this will be passed on to customers. For now, this is a difficult question to answer. Eyewitness News contacted Black Hills Energy and the Kansas Gas Service with this question. They both say it’s too early to know how customers will be affected. What we do know, we are learning from Kansas City like Hesston and Moundridge. Both have taken steps to prepare their residents for a significant increase in what they will pay for their next energy bills.
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 on Friday.
“We do not know exactly what the final number will be. We have been told that we are preparing for gas utility bills that could be 10 to 20 times their normal rate, ”McGee said. “Therefore, it could have a significant impact for each customer. Of course, it will also have a big impact on the city of Moundridge. ”
To put that in perspective, using the figures given to McGee, a customer whose gas bill is typically around $ 100, could expect to pay between $ 1,000 and $ 2,000. The price paid for natural gas units is to blame for the big jump.
Black Hills Energy, which serves eight Midwestern states, including 115,000 Kansas customers, said the main goal has been to make sure people have gas available. But what Kansans will see on their bills is unclear.
“We try to provide as much information as we can to our customers,” James Williams told Black Hills Energy. “We want to keep up with the situation. But there are still many things that also have no answer for us.”
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