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Natural Gas Bills Plummet, Saving Customers Big Money

By Jeff Neumeyer
June 18, 2010 Updated Feb 8, 2010 at 5:39 PM EST FORT WAYNE, IN (Indiana's NewsCenter) --- The tough economy is hitting people in the pocketbook, but it's also creating big savings for natural gas customers. NIPSCO predicted savings of about 35-percent this winter. Well, the numbers for January were even better than that, way better. NIPSCO officials report the average monthly savings for residential customers in and around Fort Wayne was $173.00, compared to January of 2009. The average bill was just $65.00, compared to about $238.00 for the same time period in 2009. Larry Graham from NIPSCO says some of the bigger local industrial rate payers were also benefiting from much lower natural gas bills. Larry Graham/NIPSCO: " Usage is down a little bit compared to last year, but overall it's the drop in the cost of natural gas that's resulting in those smaller utility bills." Bill McGill/Fort Wayne: " I have it in my home, and clearly it's down. About $80 dollars, you know, compared to where it was this time last year, so, it's had a personal impact on my local finances and I'm grateful." It’s also paying dividends for folks who need help paying their heating bills. Community Action of Northeast Indiana or "CANI" reports that energy assistance dollars can be stretched further when bills are so low, but they say they are still working with roughly the same number of clients, because the bad economy is driving more people to all kinds of assistance programs.
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