You might find a lower tariff today that is good through February 2010, but then find a lower tariff next month that will eclipse the previous tariff and be good through March 2010. You may find a lower tariff with your present supplier or a competitor. The key is to identify the competitors in your territory and contact them periodically to find the lowest tariff. They will be happy to take your call. You can save between $5 to $50 per month (several hundred dollar per year) on your gas bills if you call a couple suppliers and compare tariffs.

Natural gas choice pilot programs have expanded to many states. States with successful pilot programs have enacted deregulation laws to allow competition. Each state’s public utility commission provides a list of competitors on their website. For example in Ohio you can go to http://www.puc.state.oh.us/Consumer/NaturalGas/naturalgas.html or http://www.puco.ohio.gov/Puco/ApplesToApples/NaturalGas.cfm?id=4594, and in Pennsylvania you can visit http://www.puc.state.pa.us/utilitychoice/home.aspx or http://www.energyguide.com/finder/welcome.asp.

For information on the status of natural gas residential choice programs in your State, check the EIA’s Status of Natural Gas Residential Choice Programs by State as of December 2007. Click on the link and then click on your state for details.

You may live in a state that has “unbundled” the natural gas commodity from the distribution service. In states with unbundled prices, the sale of the natural gas commodity is deregulated, which means that you can refer to a list of suplliers in your area and find the best deal. It just takes a couple phone calls to check on competitors’ rates, and then you can lock-in to a fixed rate for a year (e.g. $11.99 per thousand cubic feet or MCF of gas).

It’s easy to do. Your local distribution company (LDC) or public utility commission representatives can help you do it. You will save money and rest assured that you are getting the best deal in your area.

In states with complete unbundling, once you choose a gas supplier, your local distribution company will continue to provide local distribution services, as well as a unified billing service for you.

This slide illustrates that on a British thermal unit equivalent basis, recent spot and current futures prices for gas are well below oil prices. Forward market prices now show that delivered gas at Transco Zone 6 NY averages about $10.50/MMBtu, representing about a $10/MMBtu discount to heating oil. This disparity in prices is affecting homeowner heating fuel decisions. Wachovia Research reports that NStar, which serves natural gas customers in Massachusetts, noted that inquiries about converting to natural gas from oil were five times higher during the first five months of 2008 than over the same period in 2007. At NiSource subsidiary Bay State Gas (also serving Massachusetts) conversion requests were up 97% for the same time periods. On Long Island, National Grid indicates that 12,000 homeowners had contacted it about switching to gas during the first seven months of 2008, more than double a year earlier.