Today’s column is part of an ongoing program by the Public Service Commission of West Virginia to help you read and understand your utility bills. Hope Gas has a relatively simple bill for consumers to see what costs they have incurred.
You will find a box under the listing of “Summary of Basic Charges” that can be found on the right side of the first page of your Hope Gas bill.
This information section updates customers as to credits and charges incurred since their last bill. It clearly states in bold letters total current charges, and a separate line tells the customer his or her total account balance.
Within this box is a breakdown of the billing. The line labeled “Gas Usage Charge” should reflect the largest billing cost, since it covers the amount the customer must pay for the gas used during the previous month. This is a dollar amount calculated on the basis of each 1,000 cubic feet of natural gas used that month by the customer. The Public Service Commission allows the company to bill for what it costs for it to purchase and deliver gas. Its purchase price fluctuates, depending upon what the company must pay for gas it purchases.
The second-largest billing amount in this box should be what is listed as the service charge. Hope incurs fixed costs each month, regardless of the amount of gas used by its customers. This monthly service charge covers part of these ongoing costs. It includes such things as meter reading, billing, customer accounting, pipeline capacity, and operating and maintenance expenses.
Some Hope bills may also include municipal surcharge and excise taxes. These categories are dependent upon whether the customer lives within a municipal area that imposed such taxes. If so, then those will be on the bill as separate charges. Otherwise, they will not. Municipal tax and excise fees are simple pass-through charges and do not accrue to the company at all.
Hope has an excellent website that can give you more details about your bill and other helpful information. Once again, it is our aim and Hope’s to make it easier for you to understand what you pay for when you pay your monthly bill. I hope you have found this to be helpful.