Buyers from Dominion face January natural gas rate up 64% in year

[Kolesar]

http://www.ohio.com/mld/ohio/13473882.htm

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The increases are because of continued post-Katrina production disruptions, high market prices and colder-than-normal December weather, said Jeff Murphy, Dominion director of regulatory affairs.
Earlier this month, the federal government reduced its forecast of winter natural gas price increases to 44 percent for consumers in the Midwest. That was from a high of 71 percent predicted in the fall.
But Murphy said the federal government's numbers are forecasts, and the market has been consistently higher than the government forecasts.
Although the $14.88/mcf rate is a record, the January GCR could have been worse. Murphy said market prices in recent days could have translated to a price of $16 or $17/mcf, but prices fell slightly. Plus, Dominion adjusted its price by calculating in some of its natural gas in storage, he said.
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Natural gas consumers nationwide can help reduce prices by reducing natural gas consumption (low supplies drives high prices). Floridians can poor people in Ohio by reducing their electricity usage: 40% of Florida's power is generated by natural gas.