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Understanding Your Monthly Gas Cost
Monthly Cost of Natural Gas
The monthly cost of natural gas can vary greatly depending on season, home size and personal preferences. One of the most influential factors on your average bill is the type of natural gas rate you select. When you sign up for natural gas, it’s important to make sure you understand the difference between flat, fixed and variable rates and their impact on your monthly bills. Natural gas providers all set their rates based on the New York Mercantile Exchange, or NYMEX.
Average Monthly Natural Gas Bill
If you’re wondering how much natural gas costs per month, you should first look at the natural gas costs in your area and consider your desired plan structure. A flat rate bill, like Gas South’s OnePrice Plan®, for example, guarantees you pay the same exact amount each month. But variable and fixed rate users have several factors that impact the average natural gas bill, including home size, local rate, usage, home efficiency and even how many windows and doors you have.
What impacts the average gas bill in GA?
- Monthly Usage
- Price per therm
- Service fee
- AGL Pass Through Charges
What is a Therm?
A therm is a unit of measurement for natural gas. It measures the physical volume of gas being consumed, and it’s equal to just about 100 cubic feet (also known as centum cubic feet or Ccf). It’s also commonly converted to Btu, or British thermal units, where 1 therm = 100,000 Btu.
As described by the U.S. Energy Information Administration, a Btu is “the quantity of heat required to raise the temperature of one pound of liquid water by 1 degree Fahrenheit at the temperature that water has its greatest density (approximately 39 degrees Fahrenheit).” Btu are used to measure a wide range of energy sources, including everything from electricity to propane to cordwood. A therm is more specifically used to describe and measure natural gas.
Globally, we consumed 30.48 trillion cubic feet of natural gas in 2020, which is equal to using 315,201,654,602 therms. This can seem a little abstract, thinking about an invisible gas in terms of volume and global consumption. So, consider it in the context of average number of therms used to heat a home or business. According to our data, the recent average usage for customers in Georgia is about 11 – 27 therms per month in the spring and summer and between 65 – 175 therms per month in the fall and winter.
Here are a few common conversions of therms you may see referenced from time to time:
1 therm = approximately 100 cubic feet
To calculate therms from cubic feet, divide the cubic feet by 96.7
1 therm = approximately 1 Ccf
To calculate therms from Ccf, divide the cubic feet by 0.967
1 Ccf = 100 cubic feet
To calculate Ccf from cubic feet, divide the cubic feet by 100
1 Mcf = approximately 10 Ccf
To calculate Mcf from Ccf, divide the Ccf by 10
1 therm = approximately 100,000 Btu
To calculate therms from Btu, divide the Btu by 99976.1
How to Calculate Your Gas Bill
Wondering how much your gas bill will be? Good news is, we prepared a guide on how to read your gas meter at any time. When looking at your meter, record the number that each hand points to. Then the next month, record it again. The difference between those two readings is the amount of gas used that month. From there, you’d calculate your gas usage into your monthly bill.
To calculate your bill, you can reference the following:
- Fixed and Variable Rates - (number of therms used last month x your rate) + service charges and fees - discounts and bill credits = your monthly bill
- OnePrice Plan® - No math required—your bill is the same every month!
Wondering How to Keep Costs Down?
There are many easy ways to keep your gas usage low (and lower your bill) that can help you be energy and cost efficient. Using less gas could mean taking shorter showers, using the microwave more and lowering the thermostat in the winter.
Natural gas plans may seem overwhelming, but Gas South’s plan structures and everyday low pricing are designed to keep things simple. If you want to set it and forget it, our flat monthly bill program, OnePrice Plan, can help you avoid surprises and rest easy knowing your gas bill will be the same each and every month.
