Washington Gas - locking in gas therm price?

[Anonymous]

Hi,

A week or two ago we got one of those letters asking if we want to lock in our gas therm price for two years. Yes, I'm being lazy - but has anyone done the research lately on this? Is it worthwhile to consider?

TIA!

[Anonymous]

IME, this is like asking if now is the time to refinance-- it really depends on where nat. gas prices go over the next 2 years and there's no way to know.

[Anonymous]

I got one of those letters too. When I went online to calculate what I have spent over the last year, I found that their quoted monthly price was much higher than what I have historically paid - almost $30/month higher. Natural gas prices are low now and are projected to stay that way for a while from what I understand. I am not signing up.

[Anonymous]

Unless the environmental community succeeds in getting EPA to ban fracking technology, natural gas prices will go lower and stay low for the foreseeable future. (cheap energy? The horror!) The new shale gas fields are huge and located as close as Pennsylvania. Short answer, I wouldn't lock in natural gas prices right now.

[Anonymous]

The enviro community won't get fracking banned just on its say-so, if it ihappens it will be because ordinary people see their water being poisoned and their health being damaged ... the reality of fracking is quite different than the ho-hum process shown in industry flack PR stuff.

[Anonymous]

I did it a year ago and it did work out to be less money. Our bills were lower all last year. We'll see if that is true this year. I was skeptical but the rate they gave me was lower than any rate I had paid the previous year so it looked like a good deal. We probably saved $10/mo in milder months, $30 in the cold ones.