Iola council members, as well as those at Humboldt, will learn more about increases in price of natural gas at their meetings Monday night. Both cities purchase gas and resell it to local consumers.
Scott S. Shreve, an Topeka consultant who aids Iola with its wholesale purchases, will be at Iola’s meeting to give more information.
Iola Administrator Carl Slaugh said that with the polar vortexes bringing extremely cold temperatures into the lower 48 states, gas prices had spiked and were changing frequently.
“We think the spikes will be temporary,” Slaugh said, but “they will affect bills,” with those issued this month expected to be higher than January’s. Then, many in Iola were in the $400 to $500 range.
City Clerk Roxanne Hutton said bills sent Friday were not much different than last month’s. However, gas consumed during the latest spate of cold weather had yet to be billed, she said.
Mainly, Slaugh encouraged Iolans not to panic about what might be, with gas prices being volatile enough they could drop as quickly as they rose.
In Humboldt City Administrator Larry Tucker said residents were being advised to be conservative with home heating.
“There have been some big increases, but we don’t know yet what’s going to happen,” he said.
The forecast indicates temperatures will moderate some the next few days, with a warming trend expected by Thursday.
City: Gas will cost more
