Vectren Customers Can Expect Lower Gas Bills

Natural gas prices that for the past three years have remained stable and relatively low will again translate to manageable bills for Vectren Energy Delivery of Indiana - North customers.

The utility announced recently in a press release that assuming normal winter weather year-over-year, customers could see bills that are as much as 5 percent lower. Abundant gas supply in the U.S. has resulted in natural gas costs, which are passed through to customers on a dollar-for-dollar basis, remaining at levels not seen since 2001. As such, bill amounts have decreased by nearly 40 percent since the winter of 2008-2009.

"Given gas costs represent about 60 percent of winter bills, these lower prices are helping keep bill amounts down," said Brad Ellsworth, president of Vectren Energy Delivery of Indiana - North. "As such, natural gas has continued to be the most cost-effective fuel source for home heating, especially when customers choose high efficiency furnaces. Moreover, the price of gas is expected to remain relatively stable for years to come."

This year, based upon expected natural gas commodity costs and normal winter weather, customers can expect to pay around $515 over the five-month heating season of November through March based on the average household consumption of approximately 630 therms. Bills will vary by customer depending on the size and age of the home, number of gas appliances, number in the household, thermostat settings and levels of insulation. Keep in mind, last winter was very mild, and the average customer's actual usage was only 510 therms. As such, bill amounts for November 2011 through March 2012 were much lower than originally forecasted.

"Despite the very positive outlook for natural gas bills, customers should still implement energy efficiency measures and find ways to use less natural gas to lower bills even further," Ellsworth added. "Investing in high-efficiency appliances, implementing low-cost energy efficiency measures and upgrading insulation are still the right steps to undertake."

Vectren has in place a number of tools to help customers manage their energy bills. For more details, go to http://www.vectren.com/.

Vectren North delivers natural gas to approximately 570,000 natural gas customers in several Indiana counties including Bartholomew and Jackson counties.