Complaint Review: Universal Gas And Electric Corp - Southfield Michigan

In response to Grace's comment, "I have been getting over charged from Universal Gas and Electric. I have been getting charged from them plus the same amount from Dte." Grace, please visit the website: http://www.michigan.gov/documents/mpsc/makinginformedchoice_188250_7.pdf Making an Informed Choice Many Michigan residential natural gas customers now have the option of participating in the Natural Gas Customer Choice Program (Choice) or remaining a full-service customer with their current gas utility. If you participate in Choice, you will buy your natural gas from an Alternative Gas Supplier (AGS). Charges assessed by your utility for meter reading, billing, and delivering (distributing) the gas to your home are regulated by the MPSC and ARE THE SAME WHETHER YOU ARE A FULL-SERVICE OR CHOICE CUSTOMER. Sample bills of a full service utility customer and an AGS gas choice customer are compared below. Example Full-Service Customer Utility Bill: Current Charges Customer Charge $8.50 Distribution Charge 100 Ccf @ 0.163440 = $16.34 GAS COST RECOVERY CHARGE X Ccf @ current regulated rate = $ ? Michigan Sales Tax 4% $____ Total Current Bill $Total Example AGS Customer Utility Bill: Current Charges Customer Charge $8.50 Distribution Charge 100 Ccf @ 0.163440 = $16.34 AGS SUPPLIER CHARGE X Ccf @ AGS unregulated contract price = $ ? Michigan Sales Tax 4% $____ Total Current Bill $Total So, clearly we observe: 1.) An alternative gas supplier simply replaces your utility company's GAS COST RECOVERY CHARGE with their AGS SUPPLIER CHARGE for gas. 2.) All other utility charges remain the same. Grace, your rate per Ccf of natural gas is protected at $1.049 for the next five years. The advantage of such a program is that, as natural gas prices increase (assuming prices follow historical trends), in later years of the contract, you will experience a savings over what you would have expended had you stayed with the fluctuating rates of DTE Energy/MichCon. For example, if you would have enrolled in July of 2002 at $0.53 per Ccf, then you would have saved $803.00 over the course of five years. Basically, the more gas prices go up in the future, the more you save. Did you know gas prices are on the rise again? Here are gas prices for DTE Energy/MichCon for the last three months (per Ccf): February 2008 $0.70000 March 2008 $0.84900 (14.900 cent increase = 21.3% increase) April 2008 $1.00500 (15.600 cent increase = 18.4% increase) May 2008 ??? Gas prices have gone up to $1.005, that's a $0.305 increase (44%) over the past few months. What do you think those rates will be five years from now? If you simply continue the trend of gas prices from the past five years, then five years from now DTE Energy/MichCon rates would be around $2.442 per Ccf. Your protected rate is $1.049 per Ccf. Doesn't that rate look favorable right now? Wouldn't you want to be paying $1.049 per Ccf in the year 2013?!

In response to Grace's comment, "I have been getting over charged from Universal Gas and Electric. I have been getting charged from them plus the same amount from Dte." Grace, please visit the website: http://www.michigan.gov/documents/mpsc/makinginformedchoice_188250_7.pdf Making an Informed Choice Many Michigan residential natural gas customers now have the option of participating in the Natural Gas Customer Choice Program (Choice) or remaining a full-service customer with their current gas utility. If you participate in Choice, you will buy your natural gas from an Alternative Gas Supplier (AGS). Charges assessed by your utility for meter reading, billing, and delivering (distributing) the gas to your home are regulated by the MPSC and ARE THE SAME WHETHER YOU ARE A FULL-SERVICE OR CHOICE CUSTOMER. Sample bills of a full service utility customer and an AGS gas choice customer are compared below. Example Full-Service Customer Utility Bill: Current Charges Customer Charge $8.50 Distribution Charge 100 Ccf @ 0.163440 = $16.34 GAS COST RECOVERY CHARGE X Ccf @ current regulated rate = $ ? Michigan Sales Tax 4% $____ Total Current Bill $Total Example AGS Customer Utility Bill: Current Charges Customer Charge $8.50 Distribution Charge 100 Ccf @ 0.163440 = $16.34 AGS SUPPLIER CHARGE X Ccf @ AGS unregulated contract price = $ ? Michigan Sales Tax 4% $____ Total Current Bill $Total So, clearly we observe: 1.) An alternative gas supplier simply replaces your utility company's GAS COST RECOVERY CHARGE with their AGS SUPPLIER CHARGE for gas. 2.) All other utility charges remain the same. Grace, your rate per Ccf of natural gas is protected at $1.049 for the next five years. The advantage of such a program is that, as natural gas prices increase (assuming prices follow historical trends), in later years of the contract, you will experience a savings over what you would have expended had you stayed with the fluctuating rates of DTE Energy/MichCon. For example, if you would have enrolled in July of 2002 at $0.53 per Ccf, then you would have saved $803.00 over the course of five years. Basically, the more gas prices go up in the future, the more you save. Did you know gas prices are on the rise again? Here are gas prices for DTE Energy/MichCon for the last three months (per Ccf): February 2008 $0.70000 March 2008 $0.84900 (14.900 cent increase = 21.3% increase) April 2008 $1.00500 (15.600 cent increase = 18.4% increase) May 2008 ??? Gas prices have gone up to $1.005, that's a $0.305 increase (44%) over the past few months. What do you think those rates will be five years from now? If you simply continue the trend of gas prices from the past five years, then five years from now DTE Energy/MichCon rates would be around $2.442 per Ccf. Your protected rate is $1.049 per Ccf. Doesn't that rate look favorable right now? Wouldn't you want to be paying $1.049 per Ccf in the year 2013?!

In response to Grace's comment, "I have been getting over charged from Universal Gas and Electric. I have been getting charged from them plus the same amount from Dte." Grace, please visit the website: http://www.michigan.gov/documents/mpsc/makinginformedchoice_188250_7.pdf Making an Informed Choice Many Michigan residential natural gas customers now have the option of participating in the Natural Gas Customer Choice Program (Choice) or remaining a full-service customer with their current gas utility. If you participate in Choice, you will buy your natural gas from an Alternative Gas Supplier (AGS). Charges assessed by your utility for meter reading, billing, and delivering (distributing) the gas to your home are regulated by the MPSC and ARE THE SAME WHETHER YOU ARE A FULL-SERVICE OR CHOICE CUSTOMER. Sample bills of a full service utility customer and an AGS gas choice customer are compared below. Example Full-Service Customer Utility Bill: Current Charges Customer Charge $8.50 Distribution Charge 100 Ccf @ 0.163440 = $16.34 GAS COST RECOVERY CHARGE X Ccf @ current regulated rate = $ ? Michigan Sales Tax 4% $____ Total Current Bill $Total Example AGS Customer Utility Bill: Current Charges Customer Charge $8.50 Distribution Charge 100 Ccf @ 0.163440 = $16.34 AGS SUPPLIER CHARGE X Ccf @ AGS unregulated contract price = $ ? Michigan Sales Tax 4% $____ Total Current Bill $Total So, clearly we observe: 1.) An alternative gas supplier simply replaces your utility company's GAS COST RECOVERY CHARGE with their AGS SUPPLIER CHARGE for gas. 2.) All other utility charges remain the same. Grace, your rate per Ccf of natural gas is protected at $1.049 for the next five years. The advantage of such a program is that, as natural gas prices increase (assuming prices follow historical trends), in later years of the contract, you will experience a savings over what you would have expended had you stayed with the fluctuating rates of DTE Energy/MichCon. For example, if you would have enrolled in July of 2002 at $0.53 per Ccf, then you would have saved $803.00 over the course of five years. Basically, the more gas prices go up in the future, the more you save. Did you know gas prices are on the rise again? Here are gas prices for DTE Energy/MichCon for the last three months (per Ccf): February 2008 $0.70000 March 2008 $0.84900 (14.900 cent increase = 21.3% increase) April 2008 $1.00500 (15.600 cent increase = 18.4% increase) May 2008 ??? Gas prices have gone up to $1.005, that's a $0.305 increase (44%) over the past few months. What do you think those rates will be five years from now? If you simply continue the trend of gas prices from the past five years, then five years from now DTE Energy/MichCon rates would be around $2.442 per Ccf. Your protected rate is $1.049 per Ccf. Doesn't that rate look favorable right now? Wouldn't you want to be paying $1.049 per Ccf in the year 2013?!

In response to Grace's comment, "I have been getting over charged from Universal Gas and Electric. I have been getting charged from them plus the same amount from Dte." Grace, please visit the website: http://www.michigan.gov/documents/mpsc/makinginformedchoice_188250_7.pdf Making an Informed Choice Many Michigan residential natural gas customers now have the option of participating in the Natural Gas Customer Choice Program (Choice) or remaining a full-service customer with their current gas utility. If you participate in Choice, you will buy your natural gas from an Alternative Gas Supplier (AGS). Charges assessed by your utility for meter reading, billing, and delivering (distributing) the gas to your home are regulated by the MPSC and ARE THE SAME WHETHER YOU ARE A FULL-SERVICE OR CHOICE CUSTOMER. Sample bills of a full service utility customer and an AGS gas choice customer are compared below. Example Full-Service Customer Utility Bill: Current Charges Customer Charge $8.50 Distribution Charge 100 Ccf @ 0.163440 = $16.34 GAS COST RECOVERY CHARGE X Ccf @ current regulated rate = $ ? Michigan Sales Tax 4% $____ Total Current Bill $Total Example AGS Customer Utility Bill: Current Charges Customer Charge $8.50 Distribution Charge 100 Ccf @ 0.163440 = $16.34 AGS SUPPLIER CHARGE X Ccf @ AGS unregulated contract price = $ ? Michigan Sales Tax 4% $____ Total Current Bill $Total So, clearly we observe: 1.) An alternative gas supplier simply replaces your utility company's GAS COST RECOVERY CHARGE with their AGS SUPPLIER CHARGE for gas. 2.) All other utility charges remain the same. Grace, your rate per Ccf of natural gas is protected at $1.049 for the next five years. The advantage of such a program is that, as natural gas prices increase (assuming prices follow historical trends), in later years of the contract, you will experience a savings over what you would have expended had you stayed with the fluctuating rates of DTE Energy/MichCon. For example, if you would have enrolled in July of 2002 at $0.53 per Ccf, then you would have saved $803.00 over the course of five years. Basically, the more gas prices go up in the future, the more you save. Did you know gas prices are on the rise again? Here are gas prices for DTE Energy/MichCon for the last three months (per Ccf): February 2008 $0.70000 March 2008 $0.84900 (14.900 cent increase = 21.3% increase) April 2008 $1.00500 (15.600 cent increase = 18.4% increase) May 2008 ??? Gas prices have gone up to $1.005, that's a $0.305 increase (44%) over the past few months. What do you think those rates will be five years from now? If you simply continue the trend of gas prices from the past five years, then five years from now DTE Energy/MichCon rates would be around $2.442 per Ccf. Your protected rate is $1.049 per Ccf. Doesn't that rate look favorable right now? Wouldn't you want to be paying $1.049 per Ccf in the year 2013?!