Natural gas prices in California have skyrocketed this winter, with some utility firms seeing a quadrupling in their gas procurement prices while some customers seeing their gas bills more than double.
Colder-than-expected temperatures have driven up gas demand for heating in California. Around 70 percent of households in the state use gas for heating, twice national average of 35 percent. On Nov. 23, natural gas prices at the NYMEX exchange were at $7.48 per metric million British thermal unit (MMBtu). Since then, it has fallen to $2.39/MMBtu as of Feb. 16. However, this decline in prices has not been reflected in California.
According to data from SoCalGas, the primary provider of natural gas to Southern California, gas procurement prices have risen in these months. Between November and January, procurement prices rose by 430 percent….