Having that money on hand keeps our rates down, Kaufman said.
About $1.5 million is needed annually for natural gas operations and maintenance. Over the last five years, about $800,000 has been spent annually for infrastructure work on the natural gas system.
Unprecedented increases in the cost of natural gas because of pipeline shutdowns throughout the Midwest caused by power outages and sub-zero temperatures forced Morton to pay as much as 8,000% more than expected earlier this week for the natural gas it purchases daily that s added to a monthly purchase. The forecasted increases in the daily purchases for Friday and Saturday were 250%.
Morton leader pleads for more natural gas conservation even as price surge slows
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Ameren Illinois, village of Morton asking customers to conserve energy amid frigid temps
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With the cost of natural gas spiking, officials in Morton are encouraging people to lower their thermostats a little despite below-freezing temperatures.
The village operates its own natural gas utility and has seen an unprecedented cost increase over the past week as power outages in Texas and Oklahoma limit production while extreme cold grips most of the Midwest.
“It s a combination of things, and unfortunately when those things happen (with) supply and demand, the prices go up in this case, the prices are going up exponentially,” said public works director Craig Loudermilk.
“Right now, we’re seeing gas prices 100-to-300 times what the normal cost is. Here in Morton, from Feb. 12-16, we were paying for our incremental load that would be our load above normal usage we purchased gas for $224.56 a dekatherm, when typically it s trading around $3.”