ARKANSAS, USA — With cold weather on the way, some people might be tempted to crank up their home heating up.
Though some Summit Utilities customers have been a bit more hesitant to reach for the thermostat after seeing a recent hike in their bill.
Lori Murillo explained that between October and November her Summit natural gas bill went up from about $60 to about $360.
"I get my paycheck from my job, and that's where a quarter of its going to pay that gas bill. " Murillo said.
She explained that this has put her in a tough spot before the holidays.
"I have to work four times the amount to just pay this bill tomorrow... no Christmas gifts for the grandkids," she added.
Murillo later put in a complaint about the price spike to the Attorney General's office and said that she was not the only one.
Leslie Rutledge's office explained in part that they have "received 48 consumer complaints regarding summit utilities' billing. And urge any Arkansans who may have been harmed to contact the office immediately."
Lizzy Reinholt, Summit Utilities SVP, Corporate Affairs, Sustainability, and Marketing explained that the price hike of about 20 cents more per unit of gas isn't up to them— nor do they profit from it.
"Prices are up whether it's what you're buying at the grocery store, whether it's your energy costs. And the same is true when it comes to cost of gas" Reinholt said.
Reinholt added that this also comes alongside colder weather.
"[Customer's] bills are up well, not only did their usage increase but also the cost of gas changed in November," she said.
This was all at the same time as a new billing system after summit acquired another utility company.
"As part of that settlement, we actually put forward a credit to our customers on bills. So while the cost of gas is going up, we've actually been paying a cost credit to our customer bills," Reinholt explained.
With that deal, "Summit gave all Arkansas customers a rate credit on their bill; these credits will total $26 million over two years across all Summit customers in Arkansas," the company said in a statement.
Even with these factors, customers like Lori said that they felt blindsided.
"If they would learn to communicate with their customers we wouldn't have these issues right now," Murillo said.
Summit said there are some things you can do to avoid future surprises.
"Average monthly billing that allows customers to stabilize their bills throughout the year. So rather than seeing spikes in November, December January instead they can pay more of a consistent amount throughout the entire 12-month period," Reinholt added.
Summit also said customers can turn on a ceiling fan to bring the hot air back down, and turn the thermostat a little lower if they can.
Summit explained they also have a heating assistance fund that can give customers $200 towards paying past due bills.
You can find more information about your bill by clicking here.