By Savannah Chandler
MONROE, Ga. | Electric utility consumers are feeling the pinch from record high natural gas prices through their power bills. Natural gas prices are currently at a 14-year high, up 525 percent since June 2020. Besides other factors, inflation is also impacting natural gas prices.
Most electricity – more than 60 percent in Georgia and 38 percent nationwide – is now generated by natural gas. Not that long ago, natural gas provided less than 10 percent of our state’s power.
Environmental concerns have caused a shift away from coal for power generation. Now, only five percent of Georgia’s electricity is generated from coal.
Walton EMC has contracts for most of the power it purchases on the wholesale market. The co-op’s power supplier buys the rest on a day-to-day basis. This prevents overbuying on days with low electricity demand.
Most day-to-day power is generated with natural gas. That’s because gas-fired plants can be brought in and out of service quickly to meet rapid changes in demand for electric power.
The U.S. Energy Information Agency lists several supply- and demand-related factors that affect natural gas prices:
- Weather – much of the U.S. experienced a heat wave this past summer, causing an increased demand for natural gas-produced power.
- Exports – the U.S. has greatly increased its exports of natural gas to Europe to counter the Russian shortfall, decreasing supplies here at home. U.S. exports have risen more than 1000 times the amount as compared to 2015.
- Storage levels – since summer natural gas demand was higher and exports have risen, very little natural gas was put into storage for this fall and the coming winter.
Consumers can expect electricity bills to rise modestly over the next few months.
The largest part of a Walton EMC customer-owner’s power bill is the cost of wholesale electricity, which is directly affected by rising natural gas prices. Walton EMC keeps costs low for the other parts of a typical bill, having some of the lowest overhead and operating expenses in the nation.
Walton EMC’s Greg Brooks says: “One benefit of being not-for-profit is that we only charge customer-owners the actual cost of doing business. Our members can rest assured that we do all we can to keep what they pay as low as possible. Any excess revenue is returned to them in capital credit refunds on their December bill.”
Customer-owners can always find ways to save on energy bills through the Home Energy Evaluation at waltonemc.com. This free service provides a step-by-step video and comprehensive checklist to improve the energy efficiency of any home.
Other services, like PrePay, levelized billing and payment arrangements, can help consumers having a difficult time paying their bill. The cooperative also offers referrals to community assistance agencies if needed.
Walton EMC is an innovative, customer-owned and -focused electric utility serving accounts in 10 Northeast Georgia counties between Atlanta and Athens. In its long history of meeting customer-owners’ needs, the cooperative established successful natural gas and security subsidiaries as well as nationally recognized solar initiatives. For more information, visit waltonemc.com.
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