What is the Customer Charge on my bill?

The Customer Charge covers part of the fixed costs of delivering your energy, and is not related to the amount of natural gas you use.

Many costs of providing service are fixed. That is, they exist regardless of how much gas a customer uses. These costs include things such as:

• The gas piping that's required to deliver gas.
• Labor and supplies needed to maintain the gas main.
• Labor and supplies needed to read meters.
• Qualified people to respond to emergencies and inquiries.

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Why is my bill so high?

There are many reasons why a bill may appear high, including changes in the amount of natural gas you use, the effects of weather and changes in energy prices. When trying to determine why your bill is high, first compare your gas use this year with last year's use. For example, in winter, consider whether temperatures are colder than last year; if so, you can expect your heating bill to be correspondingly higher.

Also, remember that natural gas prices fluctuate quite a bit, especially during the winter. MGU doesn't own natural gas fields, so we must buy natural gas from suppliers. Because prices on the market are generally lower in summer, that's when we purchase much of the gas we expect customers to use during the winter. We store the gas in a storage facility and then draw from it during the winter. However, we must also purchase gas on the market to supplement our stored supply. If market prices are high, customers' bills could be correspondingly higher.

If you are unsure of what may be causing your higher bill, please contact us.

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I have problems paying my bill. What should I do?

From time to time, many customers experience financial problems that make paying their bill on time difficult. We care about our customers and we'd like to work with you.

If you have a past-due balance, you can use our online payment arrangements option to schedule payments and bring your account up to date.

If you prefer, you can contact us and speak to a customer service representative. The more quickly you contact us, the more likely we'll be able to make arrangements that work for you and for the company. If your problem is temporary, we're confident we can reach a suitable agreement. If your problem is likely to last for some time, one of our experienced professionals can work with you to explore payment assistance options, as well as to work with you to improve your current financial and personal situation.

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Why do I have to pay a service fee when paying online?

Credit card payments to MGU are processed by Online Resources, a company that specializes in payment services. Online Resources charges the service fee to cover processing fees and transaction costs associated with handling credit card and electronic payments. MGU does not receive any portion of this fee.

If MGU were to cover the cost of the service fee, that cost would eventually affect all customers through our rates. Because not every customer will use this service, we do not feel it would be fair to spread the cost across all customers.

Automatic Payment is a free option that has your payment automatically withdrawn from your bank account on the date you specify each month.

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What's a therm?

Natural gas is billed using an energy unit called a therm. A therm is equal to 100,000 British Thermal Units (BTUs), or approximately 100 cubic feet (1 CCF) of gas. Your meter measures the volume of gas you use in hundreds of cubic feet. Each month, that volume is converted into therms by a BTU Factor that accounts for the actual energy produced by each CCF.

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