Salem City Manager Rex Barbee says natural gas prices have started to settle down, but are still well above the $4-per dekatherm the city pays for most of their gas supply. At one point last week during the height of the natural gas shortage, prices on the open market had shot up to $200-per dekatherm. Because of the extreme cold and to keep the system operating, Salem had to purchase some extra gas on the open market.
To try and minimize the purchase of penalty gas, Barbee had encouraged non-essential businesses to close through Thursday of last week. That request has now been lifted as the market price of gas had settled down to $7-per dekatherm on Friday.
However, between the higher gas prices and greater usage due to the extreme cold, Barbee is still encouraging continued conservation.
Ameren Illinois has also made a similar request to their electric and gas customers.
The Illinois Commerce Commission is monitoring the situation in Texas and other parts of the country. Chair Carrie Zalewski says there are some things you can do to keep your bills down, such as keeping the thermostat at 68 degrees when you’re home and lower at night and while you’re away. She says there are also some home improvements you can make.
“Set your thermostat at 68 degrees when you are awake and when you leave the house or at night time turn it down more. Turn down your water heater to 128 degrees. If you have an older water tank you can add an insulated jacket or blanket.”
Zalewski says you should always turn your water heater down to 120 degrees and if you have an older water heater, consider adding an insulated blanket or jacket.
