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LONG BEACH, CALIF. (APRIL 14, 2023) — Long Beach Utilities residential customers will pay the lowest average natural gas bills in California for the month of April, with the cost of natural gas decreasing for a fourth consecutive month.
The natural gas bill for the average Long Beach single family home will be about 9 percent lower than bills for customers of Southern California Gas, the only other major provider of natural gas in the region.
In Long Beach, the April bill for a family using 30 therms of residential natural gas is set to be under $45.
In comparison with the other natural gas utilities in Southern California, the average Long Beach gas bill for a typical single family home in April will be about 32 percent lower than San Diego Gas & Electric and 42 percent lower than Southwest Gas.
Compared to gas bills in Northern California, Long Beach customers will pay 32 percent less than customers of the City of Palo Alto and 22 percent lower than Pacific Gas & Electric.
The bill decreases are welcome news after the sudden, record spike in natural gas prices seen across California in December, January and February. The high costs were caused by colder than normal temperatures across the West Coast, interstate pipeline constraints and limited gas storage in California.
The April cost of gas for Long Beach Utilities is about 45 cents per therm, down 88 percent from $3.81 in January. This is the lowest Long Beach natural gas price in almost two years, since July 2021.
Long Beach’s low gas bills this month can be attributed to Long Beach Utilities’ coordinated strategy for purchasing wholesale natural gas, which includes:
- Injecting gas into storage while prices are low and using lower cost gas from storage when prices are high
- Closely monitoring the wholesale market to buy gas efficiently and quickly when conditions are favorable
Long Beach Utilities purchases wholesale natural gas on the open market and the prices are largely dictated by supply and demand. The Cost of Gas line on customer bills reflects a direct pass-through of this cost — Long Beach Utilities does not earn any profit on the gas commodity we provide.
As a locally-owned, public natural gas utility, Long Beach Utilities also maintains Southern California’s lowest transmission rate — the cost to provide customer service, maintain pipeline infrastructure and deliver gas.
Long Beach Utilities is actively seeking opportunities to capitalize on the current low cost of gas to provide customers with price stability and price protection for next winter.
For more information on natural gas prices, assistance programs and helpful tools to estimate your bill, visit longbeach.gov/energyresources. For questions or concerns, call (562) 570-5700.
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