Natural Gas

Don't have it.

Miss it (for cooking), but don't have it.

Haven't even turned on my heat in the condo since I moved in January 2003. 10 ft. high glass walls facing south with concrete floors that heat up in the winter when the sun is low on the horizon. Perfect.

But I was curious about natural gas prices and how they have changed in the aftermath of Katrina since I last had to pay them. I got the following historical heating season data from the Energy Information Administration:

2001-2002 - $0.72/therm
2002-2003 - $0.82/therm
2003-2004 - $0.95/therm
2004-2005 - $1.02/therm

Then I looked for Atlanta area gas prices for this winter, 2005-2006. It's very easy to compare rates on the Public Service Commission's website. On the old, fixed-rate plan I had (I like my gas prices like I like my mortgage - no variable/adjustable for me!), I would be paying:

2005-2006 - $1.67/therm

Double what I paid when I last had gas.

Maybe I don't miss it.

Of course, I occassionally have to turn on the A/C during particularly sunny days in the winter. But that's just electricity, right? But just exactly how is that electricity generated? I checked-out my buddies at Southern Company:

"We added more than 4,000 megawatts of new generation in 2001 and 2002, all cleaner burning natural gas facilities..."

Oops.

Back to the Public Service Commission:

Georgia Power (cents/KWH)-

Winter 2003 - 7.476/KWH
Summer 2005 - 8.610/KWH
Winter 2005 - ???

Maybe I can install a solar hot water heater on my balcony...