Eagle Mountain trims bills

EAGLE MOUNTAIN — Desert-hot summer temperatures may make it hard to think about chilly days and pushing up the thermostat.

But Eagle Mountain's city administration thought ahead, a move that will make residents' heat bills 15 percent cheaper than last year at the climax of the cold season.

From Nov. 1 to March 31, residents' rates will drop from $10.50 per decatherm to $9 per decatherm, thanks to a block amount of natural gas the city purchased in July.

"Last year we had to change prices month to month or every couple of months to reflect the prices on the market," said Eagle Mountain City Council member David Lifferth. "This is a nice thing, to have it locked in at a really good rate, at rates similar to our summer rates. This is the exception, rather than the norm."

According to Mike Wren, Eagle Mountain's chief of staff and public works director, the purchase was a bit of a gamble. The city obtained about 200,000 decatherms in July at $8 a decatherm, but if prices were to drop lower than $8 in the winter, the city would still have to pay the same amount.

Fortunately, the prices are not likely to drop, Wren said.

Eagle Mountain made its purchase of natural gas from Wasatch Energy before conflicts in the Middle East heightened and oil pipes in Alaska cracked.

If the city had not made the purchase, Wren said, heating bills would have increased by about 15 percent this winter.

"We will continue to use our gas broker to help us make decisions, which is their job," Wren said. "We're going to do our job, which is to be thoughtful about what we can do to keep surprise high gas rates from hitting the residents."

Wren said the city purchased enough gas to last until the end of March. Wren calculated the amount that needed to be purchased by taking last year's consumption amount and adding 15 percent for growth.

"We care about the residents and we want to do everything we can to make their lives easier," Wren said.

Eagle Mountain is tapped directly into a gas line that originates in Wyoming, Wren said. However, because the community is still small and growing, the town usually has higher gas rates than the surrounding area, Lifferth said.