Q: Last year I switched from Dominion Peoples Gas to Dominion Peoples Plus to save money on my natural gas bill. But now, it seems that my bill is higher. I am paying $10.95 per mcf. What should I do?
MARY ANNE WILLIAMS
Pittsburgh

A: Mary Anne, you should seriously think about dumping the gas choice program and going back to Dominion Peoples Plus. You have a horrible price.

You have a horrible price because, like so many others who switched to DPP last year, you did not baby-sit your price. DPP allows customers to call and switch to a lower price when one becomes available for new customers. As far as I know, DPP is the only gas supplier that allows a mid-contract switch, but if you don't ask for it, you don't get it.

If you had been watching your price or calling periodically to check DPP's prices, you could have locked in a lower price of $8.33 per mcf, or thousand cubic feet of gas, and been saving on your bill. Dominion Peoples Gas Co.'s prices are now at $8.47 per mcf plus a gas cost adjustment charge of 82 cents per mcf. After a year of being a gas choice customer, you should no longer pay that gas cost adjustment.

That means if you had been paying attention to gas choice prices, you would be saving 96 cents per mcf. Instead you are paying $2.48 more per mcf than if you hadn't switched. Bottom line for you, Mary Anne, it looks like you might want to switch back to Dominion Peoples gas, but remember, it's your choice.

Don't forget that gas choice saved us a lot of money back when gas prices started jumping and we were locked in at lovely low prices. These days the gas choice companies have trouble beating the gas companies and if you don't watch your prices, you will end up paying more than you should.

This is decision time. If you are a gas choice customer, check your supply or commodity charge. See if you are saving money or getting hosed.

Columbia Gas just raised its price per ccf, or 100 cubic feet of gas, to 82 cents with a gas cost adjustment of minus 2 cents. If you switched to DPP last year and watched your prices, you could have a price of about 78 cents, which means you are saving money. If you didn't watch the prices, you could be paying 99 cents per ccf -- not a good deal. Again, if you aren't watching prices, do you want to be in this gas choice game? Not a good idea.

If you are an Equitable Gas customer, as of April 1 you are paying $8.65 per mcf for natural gas. You can add on a very big gas cost adjustment of $2.10 per mcf. That brings the price per mcf to $10.75. If you have gas choice with Dominion Peoples Plus, you are paying $11.50 per mcf. You are paying at least 75 cents more than customers who never switched.

You can still get a good price on natural gas by switching back to Equitable. The good deal won't last forever, but if you've been away from the utility for more than a year, you don't pay the gas cost adjustment charge anymore. If you switch back to Equitable, you still won't have to pay that gas cost adjustment for the next year.

So if you could switch back today (bearing in mind that the "so slow" gas choice program takes from one to three months to switch you for no reason I can fathom), your price would be $8.65 per mcf. You would not pay the $2.10 gas cost adjustment. That is a pretty good price for Equitable Gas.

I shopped around with other gas suppliers. I didn't find anything attractive. MX Energy has fixed rates for Columbia customers from $1.08 per ccf for six months to a three-year contract for $1.13 per ccf.

As always, it's up to you. Just be sure to check your prices so your decision can be an educated one.