CPS Energy, which is wholly owned by the city of San Antonio, is the sole supplier of electricity and natural gas for the Alamo City. Interestingly, the City gets about 25% of its revenue from CPS. This arrangement is somewhat worrisome because without the threat of competition to keep prices at bay, CPS vis-à-vis the City has little incentive to keep rates in check. We do have a public utility commission whose job is to act like a watchdog over CPS, but natural competition is much better at protecting consumers than some bureaucratic, quasi government agency. But, that’s a post for another day…
Here’s what I paid for natural gas over the past 14 months, beginning in Nov-2010. I totaled all expenses for natural gas (fixed charge, fuel adjustment, etc.) and divided by consumption. I multiplied the result by 100 to get at $/ccf.
With the recent fall in natural gas prices, I was expecting to see a decline in residential gas prices. It’s difficult to see a convincing pattern, but prices have ebbed over the past several months. However, the average price for gas was higher in Dec-2011 than Dec-2010. Go figure.
So, what do you pay for natural gas?
