The Georgia Public Service Commission has published the December natural gas marketer prices on the December 2005 pricing page on the Commission Web site, www.psc.state.ga.us, along with an “apples to apples” comparison of rates and a total bill comparison showing the differences among marketer rate plans.

The monthly bill for a typical variable rate customer can vary by nearly $60 depending on the marketer chosen. Simply looking at the price per therm advertised by a marketer may not give an accurate comparison since some marketers bill certain charges separately while others include them in the per therm rate. Monthly customer service charges can vary from $3.45 to $15.95. For December, an average customer is defined as having a 1.29 DDDC factor and using 132 therms or 880 therms annually.

Georgia law provides that the “price for natural gas billed to a natural gas customer shall not exceed the marketer’s published price effective at the beginning of the consumer’s billing cycle.”

Additional information on consumer complaints concerning natural gas marketers may be found on the Gas Marketer Scoreboard at www.psc.state.ga.us/consumer_corner/scorecard.html.