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Essay on Gas Prices
Recently the gas prices has increased by 24 cents a gallon and this jump in prices would bump unleaded regular to a nationwide average of about $2.16 gallon and It could go higher as increased warm-weather driving in another two months pushes up demand, and therefore prices. The reason behind this increase is:
- Supplies have been tightening over the last few years both in the United States and Canada,
- Demand by the power sector has been increasing as new gas-fired capacity has come online over the last few years, due in part to environmental regulations, and
- The rise in world oil prices has placed an additional call on natural gas supplies.
Now this rise in natural gas prices is forcing thousands of local families to make such sacrifices. According to the Pennsylvania Office of the Consumer Advocate, the overall cost of gas has gone up 10 percent to 20 percent this winter, adding $150 to $200 to the average customer's total winter bill. Equitable Gas, for instance, currently charges about 13 percent more for gas than it did a year ago.
Those price increases, caused by low supply at a time of high demand, are straining programs such as the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program and the Dollar Energy Fund, which are designed to help low-income customers. Many gas customers have found themselves struggling to pay their bills. They wrap their homes in plastic sheeting, skulk around their basements trying to locate their gas meters, and flock to hardware stores to buy caulking and space heaters and given the recent frigid temperatures, they dread the inevitable arrival of the monthly gas bill..........
