As we’ve all heard, Hurricane Sandy had a devastating impact on the Northeast last week. The wake of destruction has left people without power, heat, water, food and gas. Many are homeless and many more are still without transportation. This disastrous storm hit home with our employees, as many of us have friends and family who were impacted by Sandy, from Haiti all the way up the US coast to New England. We are worried about our loved ones and we wanted to find a way to help!

We were able to find a church in one of the hardest hit boroughs of New York City, Staten Island. St. Christopher’s Church on Midland Ave. was happy to have our support and gave us a list of needed supplies. Gas South got the word out to our employees and the other companies who share our office building to bring in donations of food, clothing and other necessary items to send to NY. On November 7, we packed 12 large boxes of supplies for those in need and sent them up the coast to help the relief effort. We are proud that we were able to come together in this time of need even from thousands of miles away.

Take a look at this story by Channel 2 Action News to see our Gas South employees in action and if you’re looking for a way to help, you can send monetary donations to the American Red Cross, the United Way or the Salvation Army. Every little bit helps!

In the ‘Natural Gas 101’ series here on ‘The Hot Spot’, we will be writing different posts to help educate you on various natural gas issues.

What is DDDC?

Have you ever looked at your natural gas bill and wondered how it all comes together? One line of your bill includes your DDDC which stands for Dedicated Design Day Capacity.  The DDDC Factor is a calculation done by Atlanta Gas Light Company (AGL) and is unique to each home or business. Basically, AGL is responsible for having enough pipe and storage capacity to meet every customer’s need during extreme cold weather conditions. For most residential customers and small businesses, natural gas is used for heat. And when it’s cold outside, you’ll want enough natural gas to keep your home or business warm. Your DDDC factor indicates how much natural gas deliverability is reserved (or ‘dedicated’) for your home or business if Atlanta were to reach an average daily temperature of 10^oF (a ‘design day’).  You’ll see the DDDC Factor on your bill because it is used to calculate a customer’s AGL Pass-Through Charges.

Why did my DDDC change?

AGL recalculates and updates the DDDC at your location annually, so each September you will see an updated DDDC on your bill.  During this yearly calculation, AGL reviews the past gas consumption and usage pattern at your home or business. The most important influence on your DDDC calculation is how much gas was used last year during the coldest period of the year compared to your typical summer usage (if any).  A calculation is done to determine how sensitive your consumption is to cold weather and then used to set your DDDC indicating how much capacity should be reserved for your home or business.  Because your DDDC affects the AGL Pass-Through Charges, you may see a change in the amount of your bills year to year if your DDDC is adjusted.

Remember, your DDDC is tied to your location rather than you. So, if you move, your DDDC will be changed to the DDDC of your new location and then will be reset, as usual, in September.

For more information, visit Gas South’s Frequently Asked Questions or AGL’s Guide to Atlanta Gas Light Charges.

So, what do you want to learn about next?

At Gas South, we’re committed to providing our customers with the very best service. We’re different than most natural gas providers because our commitment goes beyond what you pay for your natural gas. We will always provide you with great everyday low rates, local discounts and perks to save you money. Plus, we’re committed to supporting and giving back to the communities that we serve. We call it Hometown Value and we believe our customers expect and deserve it.

Have you caught a glimpse of our new commercial that communicates this commitment? Take a look at the video below and tell us what you think. I love the dot in our commercial!  Any ideas as to what we should name it?

Exciting news in the CNG world this week as Clean Energy and Honda are teaming up to bring natural gas vehicles to the market in our home state of Georgia. Last week, the two companies announced they will be offering a $3,000 fuel card at any of Clean Energy’s compressed natural gas (CNG) fueling stations for anyone who purchases a 2012 Honda Civic Natural Gas Vehicle. With CNG prices hovering around $2.30 a gasoline gallon equivalent (GGE), $3,000 dollars will provide enough CNG to drive 40,000 miles, based on Honda’s 27 miles / GGE City and 38 miles / GGE HWY fuel economy ratings.

On October 17^th, Clean Energy, PS Energy and Clean Cities Atlanta opened Georgia’s 7^th CNG facility, located on Whitehall Street in the heart of downtown Atlanta. Clean Energy is continuing to help fuel the CNG Revolution. The recent improvements in CNG infrastructure in Georgia, along with incentives from companies like Honda, will continue to make CNG attractive and viable.

Gas South is excited about these opportunities around Georgia and will continue to keep you informed of developments in the promising CNG Revolution. If you have any questions regarding this program or other questions on CNG in general, please comment below or email me at CNG@gas-south.com.

Does a $3,000 fuel card make purchasing a natural gas vehicle more practical for you?

This week, Gas South had the opportunity to attend the opening of two new compressed natural gas (CNG) facilities right here in Georgia; the DeKalb County Station at Seminole Landfill and American Fueling Systems (AFS) station off of Buford Highway. These stations, along with other public and private locations in Georgia are the reasons why our state is continuing to lead the southeast in the field of alternative fuels. The development of CNG stations around the state have been facilitated by initiatives like Atlanta Gas Light’s (AGL) CNG Infrastructure program and public/private partnerships such as AFS’s fueling station in DeKalb will be on the leading edge of the CNG revolution. This revolution has huge local and global implications that could impact the fueling, automotive and the political landscape of our state and country. Learn more about alternative fuels in Georgia at Clean Cities Atlanta and CNG Now.

CNG or compressed natural gas is a readily available alternative fuel that is made by compressing natural gas to less than 1% of its volume at standard atmospheric pressure. CNG can then be used to fuel automobiles ranging from your personal car to dump trucks. At the moment large companies such as UPS and municipalities like DeKalb County are benefitting from savings of almost a $1.50 a gallon and switching their fleets, buses, and vehicles to CNG. Currently, Atlanta Gas Light (AGL) has a leasing program that allows residents to rent a device that refuels your CNG vehicles in the convenience of your garage. To get more information regarding CNG in Georgia, feel free to comment below or email me at CNG@Gas-South.com.

So what would it take for you to buy a CNG car and be part of the CNG revolution?

Gas South’s 4^th annual Bring the Heat™ campaign came to a close on September 30^th with the Atlanta Braves last regular season home game. Each year, Gas South pledges to donate $25 each to both the United Way of Greater Atlanta and Salvation Army’s Project SHARE every time a Braves pitcher throws a strikeout. The Braves’ pitchers ended the year with 1,232 strikeouts, which allowed Gas South to contribute a grand total of $61,600 to the campaign!

Two of our vice presidents, Meredith Hodges and Chris Coan, presented the checks at Turner Field in front of a sold-out crowd to our partners. Milton Little Jr. of United Way and Josh and Jordan Hinson of the Salvation Army accepted the checks on behalf of their organizations. We are proud of our Bring the Heat™ campaign, which has allowed us to donate $172,000 since 2010. This program enables Gas South to continue to help make a huge impact on the lives of thousands of local families in need. Go Braves!

What was your favorite moment from the 2012 Braves season?

Last Saturday, Gas South employees came out in full force to support the American Diabetes Association in the Stop Diabetes Walk! We gathered early in the morning at the Historic Grant Park for a fun and upbeat 5k. Gas South was proud to support this event to help find a cure for the deadly disease that affects 26 million people in the United States alone. Diabetes affects our coworkers, neighbors, friends and families and it’s important to do what we can to support the American Diabetes Association.

Our employees got together for the walk and proudly wore our Gas South Cares T-shirts. We raised a total of $5,000, mostly from our own employee donations. What a great day! We are already excited to step out again next year.

Were you able to attend the Stop Diabetes Walk?  What are some of your favorite causes to support?  Let us know in the comments below!

In our last quarterly newsletter, I invited our customers to send in suggestions to our Facebook page, on Twitter and through email to help us improve our customer service. The top three ideas would each be awarded $100 of natural gas for free. We received lots of great entries and we thank all of you that participated in this contest. I’m very pleased to announce that, after much deliberation, we have chosen our three winners!

Congratulations to Vera Clark, Jo-Ellen Catto and Brian Genter on their excellent suggestions!

- Vera suggested we offer the opportunity to donate to those in need through our monthly bills.

- Jo-Ellen would like us to extend more offers and promotions to areas outside Metro Atlanta.

- Brian wants to see more energy saving tips in our customer communications.

We will be taking their ideas and putting them into action over the next few months so keep an eye out! So what’s your favorite suggestion?  Let us know in the comments!

Last week we talked about what Gas South is doing to help you through this winter. This week, we’d like to give our customers a few tips to assist you in preparing for the heating season.

- Make sure you check your current rate per therm. You can find this information on your bill. If you are on a variable rate, think about switching to a fixed rate plan. Prices usually rise in the fall and winter months when demand increases, and you may save money by locking in a fixed rate now. Find out more about our rate plans here.

- Some houses and businesses only use natural gas for heat and they are our seasonal customers. Seasonal accounts can be turned off during the summer months to prevent being charged taxes and fees when the gas isn’t being used. If you are a seasonal customer, call us now so that we can schedule your service connection before it gets cold.

- If you need your natural gas service turned on, the sooner you call, the less likely you will have to wait. Atlanta Gas Light (AGL) is the company who owns the pipelines that natural gas flows through here in Georgia. AGL is responsible for maintaining the pipelines, turning the gas on or off for customers, and reading meters. When you sign up for natural gas service, we register your account with AGL and let them know they need to turn your service on. AGL has up to five business days to turn on your gas and it may take the entire time when AGL is busy.

We hope these tips help. Call us or visit us online to check on your account or turn on service before it gets too cold. Gas South is BRINGING THE HEAT™ to keep you warm this season!

Fall is here and it’s time for back to school, football season and colder temperatures! The coming of the chillier weather also brings Gas South’s busiest time, the heating season. We want to make sure that we are fully prepared to provide you with the best customer service, so we’ve made a few changes which we think will make things easier:

-We have extended our Customer Care Center hours and you can now reach us anytime between 7 a.m. and 8 p.m. Monday through Friday, and between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. on Saturdays.

-We’ve hired additional employees to our local customer care team to handle the increased call volumes we experience around this time of year.

-We’ve updated our online options to help us respond to your emails within 4 business hours.

-We will start offering a live chat option on our website for customers who do not want to call, but have a question on their account.

We hope that these changes will help ease you through the heating season. Don’t forget to make sure your natural gas service is prepared for the coming months. When the temperatures start dropping, we are ready to BRING THE HEAT™!

What’s your favorite part about the changing of the season?