Customers confused about increase in gas bills

JONESBORO, Ark. (KAIT) - As the cold temperatures continue to make their way into Arkansas, many are turning those heaters on high.

After seeing some of the numbers on their bills, however, some customers might be a little more hesitant.

Sandra Combs first thought she was getting gouged when she got her gas bill from Summit Utilities back in November.

“I think I paid $30 a month before so I couldn’t understand what the big jump was,” she said.

Combs’ bill was $138, a price that might not sound crazy, but for a customer of 13 years, she said she only uses gas for hot water, and she doesn’t even use that often.

“I don’t understand what it is, I even wash in cold water,” she said.

You may think Summit must be making a lot of money from them, but the Manager of Communications, Justina Pimentel, said otherwise.

“It’s really important to know that we don’t make a profit on the cost of gas we pass it through to our customers, so we buy it and sell it at the same rate to them,” she explained.

Pimentel stressed there are a couple of major issues contributing to the sharp increase.

“The conflict in Ukraine and in Europe is really eating at the demand for natural gas, and we are still having issues with the supply chain from COVID-19,” she said.

Summit announced their prices would increase on Tuesday, Nov. 1, but Combs fears if her bill was this high during a stretch of time where she was gone for a couple of days, she is unsure what might happen next.

“I’ll have to get another job to pay for it, it’s crazy and I am really fearful of the next bill,” she said.

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