If you plan on turning up the thermostat this winter, don't be surprised if your bills go through the roof.
Philadelphia Gas Works, which serves half a million customers in Philadelphia, recently announced a 19.4 percent rate increase.
Residential heating customers will likely face an average of $335 increase per year as a result of the increase. According to PGW Corporate Affairs Manager Patricia Cole, that adds up to an average bill of $1,575 annually.
Drops in natural gas production stemming from the effects of hurricanes Katrina and Rita in the southern states -- and not financial woes, according to Cole -- are behind the price hike. A 4.9 percent rate increase went into effect last month due to higher public use of electricity, which is produced by natural gas electric-generator plants during the summer.
The request was filed with the state Public Utility Commission and approved last week.
While heating prices will be extremely high this year, PGW offers a budget-billing plan that allows customers to spread out their payments over a period of 12 months.
The company also offers a customer-responsibility program that assists low-income families by reducing their bills by up to 50 percent. Currently, only 60,000 people participate in the program and, according to Cole, that is not enough.
Under the Responsible Utility Customer Protection Act passed last year in Harrisburg, PGW can enforce a shut-off policy for nonpayment during the winter months. However, no services were turned off for this reason last year.
"All people have to do is call us if they're behind on their bill," she said.
While PGW is not the University's gas supplier, Penn will nevertheless feel the effects of the price hike. Penn's facilities are heated by steam, but natural gas is used to generate the steam.
"The impact is that our overall heating bills are going to go up significantly," said Lisa Prasad, Penn's associate vice president for business administration.
Miki Farcas, director of the Office of Off-Campus Living, has already begun warning students of the hike through an announcement on the office's Web site.
Farcas said that students who live in large homes usually pay for their own utilities and that this is an aspect of off-campus housing that students should carefully consider. She predicted that the cost of utilities will likely be 50 percent higher this year than last.
Farcas added that students should work together with their landlords to make sure the property is properly insulated, heating systems are functioning properly and everything is "weather-tight." While acknowledging that landlord responsibility may not be specifically defined when it comes to what should be done to insulate property, she said that students should still consult with them.
Students may be concerned about the rising cost of utilities aggravating property rent, but University City Housing property manager William Lynch said that his company has no plans to raise rent for this year and has yet to sit down to evaluate what will be done.
"I can't speak for what it will be next year," he said. "Market rent goes up every year."
Currently, UCH charges a flat rate of $20 per month per person for the cost of gas, which includes cooking, heating and hot water. Lynch did not have figures for what students not charged the flat rate pay since PGW is the supplier.
Michal Krasnodebski, a Wharton and Engineering senior who lives at 3934 Sansom St., said that he plans to seal his apartment with weather strips to keep the heat in.
"It hurts me in the pocket," he said regarding the price hike.
Krasnodebski said he is contemplating purchasing an electric space heater to stay warm.
Still, simpler measures can be taken to combat rising gas costs.
"Turning down the thermostat a few degrees can save you 10 percent on your heating bill for the year," Cole said.
