My Gas Bill

It's summer. It is also a time when your gas bill should be very low. We cook outdoors on the grill or on an electric range in the kitchen. Oh yes, we also have a microwave oven that gets plenty of use. So for what do we use natural gas? Our water heater.

I opened the latest bill from Kansas Gas Service and noticed that the bill was for $40.68. That seemed like a lot of hot water. Basically there is just my wife and me at home. The three dogs and cats avoid baths like the plague and prefer cold water. So why the high price of gas in June?

The bill details the expense. The actual cost of the gas was $18.68. That seems a lot more reasonable than $40.68. Added to the actual cost was a service charge for $12.25. Service charge? What in the world is the service charge? I never called the gas company to do anything. They didn't check out my system. The closest I had to having a gas company employee was the guy who came by and read the meter. Am I being charged $12.25 to read the meter? If so, I could learn to read the meter myself. Or, if not, I would hope that the meter reader gets the entire amount. Forget about a Christmas present for this guy. He gets one every month.

Then there was a delivery charge of $5.00. Now I know I missed something. I thought this gas was coming through a pipeline laid underground. But now I learn it is being delivered. I need to find out when this happens and keep the zoo inside. I would not want to get cross wise with the gas company because the delivery boy was attacked by my two vicious attack cats. Fortunately the dogs are too mellow to attack anything. Only one of them is dumb enough to take on the attack cats.

Then there is a fee for Weather Normalization. It is only 40 cents. Our weather has been anything but normal around here this year. Now I know why. We are paying enough for Weather Normalization. When did the gas company get in the weather business?

Then there is a fee of $2.03 for a Gas Hedge. My wife will be glad to know we are getting another hedge. She has converted our little piece of corner property into a jungle. Now I find out the gas company is providing a hedge. We are not sure where it is, but according to the bill it is there.

Finally we have all the taxes and the Franchise fee.

Total for the bill for the gas that originally cost $18.68 is now $40.68, of which $22.00 are all these extras.