Hey it's Slav
Sunday I told you I'd do the math on what the gas shortage does to your bill.
Here it is.
Start with the number that got everyone's attention. John Sims, president of ENSTAR, sat in front of the legislature and said his company is 18 days short of gas this winter.
Not in a cold snap. At normal temperatures.
ENSTAR heats more than 136,000 homes and businesses across Anchorage, the Valley and the Kenai.
His words on a repeat of last winter: "we are going to have significant challenges and likely see rolling blackouts."
Now your bill.
About 80 percent of a typical ENSTAR bill is the gas itself. The pipes, the meters, the crews, all of that is the other 20 percent. So when people say gas prices, they are talking about almost your whole bill.
Today ENSTAR buys that gas for about $10.80 per thousand cubic feet.
Imported LNG, the plan to replace what Cook Inlet can't deliver, runs about $22 for the same thousand cubic feet.
Same gas. Same amount. Twice the price.
Sims called it "not an economically sustainable way to move forward as a state.” (He’s the dude who has to go buy it.)
Well, that sucks.
Here's my read for your bill.
Spoiler Alert:
If you own, heating just became a line item that can move on you, and it's nowhere near your mortgage statement where you'd notice it.
If you rent, your landlord's heating bill reaches you at renewal, not this month. It shows up late and all at once.
If you're shopping for a home or rental building, start asking sellers for 12 months of actual heating bills.
When fuel is about to reprice, an old furnace and single-pane windows stop being a vibe and start being a number you need to account for,
Thats it.
What I'm watching next: lawmakers hear from Chugach, Hilcorp and HEX in September, and nothing gets written into law until the January session. Which means this winter happens either way.
The clocks:
Aug 31: the state decides whether oil revenue triggers about $115 million in extra school funding, $32 million of it for Anchorage.
September: legislative testimony from Chugach Electric, Hilcorp and HEX on the gas shortage. Exact date not posted yet.
Fall: GVEA's assistance program opens, grants up to $750 toward overdue electric bills for Interior members.
-Slav