Officials Expect Dip In Natural Gas Prices

Alabama Gas Corp. says its natural gas
prices will probably be lower by winter.
Alagasco President Dudley Reynolds said he expects Alagasco to
lower its rates, but he's not sure how big the reduction could be.
Prices for natural gas paid by residential customers of Alabama
Gas Corp. have dipped about 7 percent since June 2008. In
comparison, wholesale gas prices have fallen by about 70 percent
since then.
The wholesale cost of gas has plummeted since the summer of
2008, in part because of reduced demand in the recession.
A spokesman for the Public Service Commission, which regulates
Alagasco and other utilities, says three commissioners who oversee
the agency are frustrated that the residential cost of natural gas
has fallen little, and not at all for most of this year, even as
wholesale costs have plunged nationwide.