New this year is enrollment is only online or by phone
LINCOLN, Neb., Aug. 27, 2012 - Annual enrollment for Black Hills Energy's 2012-13 Nebraska Annual Price Option program will begin Sept. 4 on a first come, first-served basis and remain open until Oct. 4 or the 14,000- customer enrollment limit is reached, whichever occurs first.
With the APO program, the customer's price for natural gas,
what customers are charged per "therm," is set for the
one-year contract period, November 2012 through October 2013,
regardless of changes in the national market price of natural
gas. "Therms" are the billing unit Black Hills Energy
uses.
Participation in the APO program is voluntary. Customers who
do not want to be on the APO program do not need to do
anything and will be charged the "traditional billing"
per-therm price for natural gas.
Black Hills purchases a designated supply of natural gas each
year specifically for the APO program, which is the reason
for the enrollment cap.
This year, enrollment for Nebraska residential customers of
Black Hills Energy will only be online at
www.annualpriceoption.com, or by phone Monday through Friday
from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. at 800-753-7509. Customers who sign up
are required to stay on the program for one year unless they
move out of Black Hills Energy's Nebraska service
territory.
"APO provides price certainty for customers who select this
year's APO price and like knowing that - regardless
of what the future market price is for natural gas - the gas
price they'll pay for one year will not change," said Don
Nordell, Black Hills Energy Nebraska business operations
director.
There's an abundance of natural gas supply in the natural gas
market, resulting in lower rates for the 2012-13 APO program
than the current APO program which began last November and
ends Oct. 31. Traditional billing natural gas prices for the
last 12 months have ranged from $0.33351 per therm (rate area
1, May 2012) to $0.62266 per therm (rate area 3, March 2012).
APO and traditional billing natural gas price comparison | ||||
Black Hills Energy rate area | Partial listing of communities served | 2012-13 APO natural gas price* per therm (Nov. 1, 2012-Oct. 31, 2013) | 2011-12 APO natural gas price* per therm (Nov. 1, 2011-Oct. 31, 2012) | Current (August 2012) traditional billing natural gas price* per therm |
1 | Bellevue, Blair, Gretna, La Vista, Papillion, Plattsmouth, Ralston, Valley and Waterloo | $0.46431 | $0.57765 | $0.44463 |
2 | Lincoln, Walton and Cheney | $0.47153 | $0.59105 | $0.45492 |
3 | All other areas, including Auburn, | $0.48537 | $0.64193 | $0.49195 |
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Black Hills Energy
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Aurora, Beatrice, Columbus, Fairbury, Norfolk, Seward, Wayne and York |
* In addition to the actual natural gas supply cost, all customer bills include Black Hills Energy's delivery charge (identified as
"Base Rate" on the monthly Black Hills Energy bill) of $0.195 per therm of natural gas, and other fees and taxes approved by the Nebraska Public Service Commission. The total bill is subject to the Gas Cost Reconciliation (identified on the Black Hills Energy monthly bill as "GCR") per-therm charge.
Natural gas costs, itemized on the bill as "PGA," or
"purchased gas adjustment," are the largest portion of a
customer's bill, but Black Hills Energy does not earn any
profit from that portion of the bill. The price the company
pays for natural gas is the price customers are charged and
pay.
With traditional billing, the natural gas price typically
changes monthly depending on the national natural gas market
price. Bills for traditional rate customers also increase or
decrease monthly due to how much gas is used in addition to
gas market price changes. While APO customers are billed the
same gas price each month for a year, locking in one variable
of the bill, APO monthly customer bills will also still
increase or decrease based on the amount of natural gas
used.
Black Hills Energy's Nebraska service territory is divided
into three rate areas; natural gas prices vary slightly
between rate areas as a result of differences in interstate
pipeline carrier costs to transport natural gas to the rate
areas.
Customers choosing the APO may combine it with the company's
Budget Billing that takes seasonal peaks out of a customer
bill for a more even monthly payment.
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Black Hills/Nebraska Gas Utility Company, LLC d/b/a Black
Hills Energy serves 196,000 natural gas customers in
106 eastern Nebraska communities. Black Hills Energy is a
subsidiary of Black Hills Corp., a diversified energy company
with a tradition of exemplary service and a vision to be the
energy partner of choice. Black Hills Corp. is based in Rapid
City, S.D., with corporate offices in Denver and Papillion,
Neb. Black Hills Corp. serves 765,000 natural gas and
electric utility customers in Colorado, Iowa, Kansas,
Montana, Nebraska, South Dakota and Wyoming, and its
non-regulated businesses generate wholesale electricity and
produce natural gas, oil and coal. Black Hills' 2,000
employees partner to produce results that are improving life
with energy. More information is available at
www.blackhillscorp.com.
Media Contact: | |
Bob McKeon | 402-943-9143 |
Black Hills Media Relations Line | 866-243-9002 |
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