Low Low

A new survey of 50 U.S. cities shows that MLGW customers pay the second lowest combined rates for electricity, natural gas, water and wastewater. The survey is based on average usage and on rates effective January 1, 2010.

The average residential bill for MLGW customers is $266.01. Springfield, MO slightly edged out MLGW with an average bill of $263.59. Of the cities in the survey, Boston had the highest combined bill at $495.43. MLGW’s average residential bills were lower than those in cities like Louisville, Nashville, San Antonio, Little Rock, Cincinnati, Seattle, Phoenix, Knoxville and Jacksonville. The complete survey can be found here.

“The employees at MLGW are dedicated to supplying our customers with low cost and reliable service,” said MLGW President and CEO Jerry Collins Jr. “We are pleased with these results and our goal for next year is to have the lowest residential utility bills.”

The annual survey is conducted by MLGW and is based on 1000 kilowatts of electricity, 200 hundred cubic feet (CCF) of natural gas, 10 CCF or water and 10 CCF of wastewater, which is the usage of a typical MLGW customer.

MLGW customers also saw their average bill drop significantly from 2009, when the average residential customer bill was $344.97 per month. The 2010 total of $266.01 represented a 23 percent reduction compared to last year.

There are a few explanations for MLGW’s improvement in this survey:

• MLGW had no rate increases for 2009 and no budgeted increases for 2010.

• MLGW was able to secure natural gas at low prices that benefited customers during the winter and held overall heating costs down.

• TVA’s fuel costs, which are passed on to MLGW customers, dropped in the latter part of 2009.