Hearings of

the study committee began Friday in Gwinnett County, with future hearings

planned in Clayton and Rockdale counties.

"We have

an important issue to address," said Taylor. "The needs of our

citizens to gain affordable energy, especially during the upcoming winter

months, is paramount. Senator Hecht led our efforts in the Senate last

year to provide relief on late natural gas bills, which created high bills

from several months of service being combined in one bill. He did an outstanding

job of securing several measures to protect consumers with the legislation

we passed last year. He will be a strong chairman of the Natural Gas Study

Committee."

Senate Bill

217, authored by Hecht, requires that bills be received within 30 days

of the monthly meter reading, that bills contain universal information

including the price per therm, the amount of gas consumed, the service

delivery fee and any hidden charges broken down specifically on the bill.

Also, the bill

required marketers to allow consumers to switch from one marketer to another

at no cost at least one time within a 12-month period.

"We made

a good first step with Senate Bill 217 last year," said Hecht, "but

we have a lot of work to do still. We have to concentrate on fending ways

to ensure that Georgia consumers maintain the ability to receive lower

prices for natural gas, which may be occurring in the wholesale market.

"Unfortunately,"

he said, "bad debt has built up in the market, costing all of us

higher prices. We need to find a mechanism of relief."

Study committee

hearings are open to the public, and public comment will be accepted.