Ready to shop 'til you drop...for natural gas?

This is another one of those uber-local posts, but it might apply to some of you folks out there who deal with deregulated natural gas suppliers. I have been on the fence with deregulated gas since you end up dealing with companies that tack on junk fees like customer service which typically adds up to about $6/month. 

Early October is a beautiful time of year in the Southeast. The fall festivals are popping out all over including wonderful international events to arts fests. With those events and the beautiful fall colors, shopping for cheap natural gas is the last thing on our minds, right?

Even while we are enjoying the splendid weather, reality sets in and let’s face it: reality bites. The fact is that we have a deregulated natural gas provider scheme set up here in the Atlanta metro area. Cami and I set to go natural gas shopping when we received the deadline notices from our current natural gas providers. Since the providers are in competition, you have room to negotiate rates.

As of this writing, mainstream providers are offering rates anywhere between .59-.69/therm depending on length of service from which you decide to choose. If you do your research, you may find more off-the-beaten-path providers offering .545 to .569.

Head on over to the Georgia Public Service Commission’s site where you have the ability to compare apples to apples at http://www.psc.state.ga.us/. You will be pleasantly surprised that you can save an incredible amount of money when shopping for a natural gas provider.

There are four parts to your natural gas bill. You might be able to find some “wiggle room” to negotiate with a provider when it comes to the therm rate and customer service charge. There are two other parts to your bill including a pass-through fee and taxes. It never hurts to ask to negotiate on those fees as well.

After much research, I was able to find a decent therm rate with a company that will provide a nice introductory credit on a 12-month-fixed agreement.

Of course, it’s important to take detailed notes as to the representative’s name, therm rate and agreement length. Another key point is to have your previous year’s worth of natural gas provider bills handy to help in your search. The best part about all of this is if you decide to switch providers, the old one will be notified to suspend service.

Now that the gas bill is set for now, onto the cable company. Did you know that the company can raise the lease rate at any time on a modem combination router? This blogger’s work is never done.