Retail Supplier Offering "Guaranteed Bill" Plan (Flat Monthly Charge Without True-up)

Georgia Natural Gas (SouthStar Energy Services) has begun offering a "Guaranteed Bill" natural gas plan to residential and small commercial customers at Atlanta Gas Light.

The Guaranteed Bill plan is a program which features a pre-determined flat monthly charge each month for 12 months, and remains constant regardless of customer usage. There is no true-up at the end of the term, Georgia Natural Gas says.

The flat monthly charge is customer-specific, based on usage history, weather, forecast prices, and other factors.

The flat monthly charge includes the Atlanta Gas Light Base Charge, the GNG customer service charge, the gas supply charge, and, if applicable, the interstate capacity charge. The flat monthly amount does not include taxes or one-time charges such as connection or late charges.

The flat monthly charge will be the same each month during the 12-month term for standard billing periods (those lasting 27-33 days). To the extent meter reads result in a billing period longer or shorter than this standard billing period, GNG will prorate the monthly charge.

The plan includes an early termination fee of $50 dollars if canceled during the first 6 months of the agreement, and $25 if canceled during the last 6 months.

Eligibility for the Guaranteed Bill plan requires that the customer and property have sufficient gas usage history. The customer may not be eligible for the program if usage patterns at the property do not allow GNG to accurately forecast normal gas usage patterns. GNG also considers credit and payment history

"Excessive changes in consumption not related to the weather are not considered normal usage on the Guaranteed Bill plan. Examples could include adding an addition to your house, heating a new pool all winter, or turning your house into a 'sauna' by setting your thermostat to an unusually high temperature. In extreme cases, if a customer used significantly more gas than we would expect given the weather, we reserve the right to terminate you from this plan and put you on our standard Variable Select plan. Again, increases in use due to cold weather are included with your plan and you will never be terminated because you used more gas due to extreme cold. However, excessive changes such as those listed above are not included in your plan," GNG says.