Tricks used by Gas Companies to get your Business
By: Hubert Crowell
Paying the bills for a church with large utility bills can be a challenge when trying to save money.
Recently when I received a sales call from one of the local gas companies trying to get our
business, I learned about a trick they use.
All the gas companies buy from the same suppliers and have a standard markup, so how can they
compete? The sales pitch usually goes something like this, we can save you so much a year over
your present gas company. And then you start comparing the price per therm you paid on the last
bill compared to what you would have paid if you had their services.
The trick is that the retailers buy gas on a day to day basis and the price per therm changes every
day. The billing day to the end user is different for each company. The price per therm for
example on 01/17/07 was 1.399 and the price per therm on 01/11/07 was 1.189. One gas
company that I deal with uses the 01/17/07 billing date and another company that I deal with uses
the 01/11/07 billing date. So who do you think I get the sales call from?
The company that billed on 01/11/07 call and says that they can save me money. When I compare
their price of 1.1899 with the other company, sure enough I could have saved 21 cents a therm
that month with the lower company. With a church that uses several hundred therms a month, this
could amount to quite a savings.
So what is wrong with this picture?
When I compared the price per therm over several months I found that some months one company
would be lower and other months the other company would be lower. The gas companies watch
for the month when their price is the lowest and then hit the phones with the good news.
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