Officials are warning South Carolinians that their natural gas bills will be on the rise this year. | Canva
Officials are warning South Carolinians that their natural gas bills will be on the rise this year. | Canva
In an economy where prices on everything from meat to diapers are rising at an alarming rate, likewise natural gas won't be immune to sticker shock this winter.
South Carolinians are being told to prepare soaring natural gas prices. According to Choose Energy’s Natural Gas rates index, South Carolina currently ranks among the top 10 most expensive states for natural gas at $24.69 per thousand cubic feet.
The The Daily News reports that rate increases effective Nov. 1 will compensate safety and infrastructure investments, but in the process is sending prices to their highest levels in 13 years.
“Natural gas market prices are higher due to the economic recovery from strong natural gas demand from last winter, along with slower than anticipated production this year,” Richard Meyer, vice president of energy markets, analysis and standards at the American Gas Association, told The Daily News.
The cost increases are set to squeeze middle- and low-income family budgets, especially with the cost of nearly all other necessities on the rise as well.
In what they deem the “inflation tax” the Wall Street Journal Editorial Board points out that “workers are paying the price” for increased costs since “real hourly earnings are down 1.9% since January.”
As the weather cools and people turn on their heating systems, prices of natural gas and propane have increased by 89% and nearly 300%, respectively.
Rob Thummel, an investment manager focusing on energy at Tortoise Capital, predicts that if temperatures remain around average this winter, heating bills will increase by 50- to 75%.
Residents are mostly blaming politicians for the rising cost of natural gas and other goods and services.
"By pursuing policies that restrict supply and make it harder to produce oil and natural gas here in America," Anne Bradbury, CEO of the American Exploration and Production Council, said in a statement reported by the Washington Examiner earlier this month.
"Americans will have to pay more for their energy," she said, criticizing the Biden administration’s energy policy.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration predicts that propane expenditures will rise by 54%, heating oil by 43%, natural gas by 30%, and electricity by 6%.
Dan Eberhart, CEO of oilfield services company Canary, said in a commentary in Forbes that because of inflation on groceries and other commodities, consumers will have less to spend on their home heating bills.
He also argues that the rising energy costs will affect the deliveries of goods and increase inflation.
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