‘Shockingly High’ Gas Bills Coming to Southern California in January: SoCalGas

Natural gas is transferred into the SoCalGas system after being collected and purified at a Calgren collection facility in Pixley, Calif., on Oct. 2, 2019. Mike Blake/Reuters

Southern California Gas Co. (SoCalGas) customers could pay more than double the monthly price for natural gas this month, the company warned at the end of December.

“There’s no easy way to put this: January bills are likely to be shockingly high,” the company said in a statement Dec. 29.

Customers will pay about 128 percent more in January compared to last month, according to the statement. Those who typically paid around $65 a month last winter can expect to see bills closer to $160 this year. Those with bills around $130 a month could see charges jump to $315, SoCalGas reported.

In response, SoCalGas made a $1 million contribution Jan. 6 to a program that helps low-income customers pay their gas bills, the company announced.

Officials blamed a national cold snap and market prices for the rising cost.

“While we don’t set these prices (they’re set by regional and national markets), nor does SoCalGas actually profit from rising prices, we want our customers to know that we understand that this may be a shock and a hardship for some,” the statement read.

A natural gas pump jack is pictured in Lost Hills, Calif., on March 24, 2014. David McNew/Getty Images

The painfully high gas bills are hitting residents at a time when ongoing inflation—still reaching 7.1 percent nationwide in November—has raised the price of nearly all basic necessities in the past year.

Natural gas prices skyrocketed this month as cold weather stretched from Western Canada to California, leading to increased demand for heating homes, the U.S. Energy Information Administration reported.

Meanwhile, pipelines in West Texas undergoing maintenance contributed to reduced supplies from the West Coast to the Rocky Mountains, according to the agency.

Southern California’s natural gas storage reached 25 percent below last year’s levels, according to the energy information agency. Northern California inventories were also short of demand.

As a result, SoCalGas paid about 227 percent more to buy natural gas this month compared to December.

In addition, rates to transport natural gas were raised by the California Public Utilities Commission—which reviews the rates annually—effective Jan. 1.

Such fees are now 8 percent higher in residential areas and 5 percent for small businesses on average.