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Show unit j(BWT nnsifttsnirsin .'gjsis. B2nlll. (H jD Mountain Fuel customers are paying more for gas than ever before. Here's why: Higher gas costs. We purchase about two-thirds of our gas from outside suppliers in order to serve our fast-growing area. The cost of this gas has risen 148 since 1 978 because of federal government pricing policies and the greater expense of producing hard-to-get new supplies. We either pay the increased price or give up the supply. Higher taxes. Federal, state and local taxes which we and our suppliers pay have risen some 2800 since 1940, more than five times the increase in natural gas prices during the same period. That rising tax burden adds significantly to the price you pay for natural gas. Direct taxes paid by Mountain Fuel account for 14 of your bill, and residential customers pay a 2 sales tax. In addition, many communities assess a franchise tax, which can add another 6 to the cost of natural gas service. ser-vice. And our suppliers pay taxes which are passed on to us in the price of gas we buy which further increases the portion of your bill which goes for taxes. Colder Weather. Below-normal temperatures in October, November and December caused the typical Utah customer's custo-mer's consumption and bills to increase in-crease by more than 1 5 over normal. Other factors. Inflation has been a significant factor in the general rate increases in-creases we have had to ask for over the past few years. Our industrial load has declined. de-clined. Industrial customers historically have helped to keep residential gas costs lower because they pick up a large share of the "fixed costs" of operating and maintaining maintain-ing our distribution system. But because of increased competition from other fuels, economic conditions and government intervention, inter-vention, we have lost a significant amount of our industrial load. We don't expect you to like paying higher bills for natural gas or anything else. But you have a right to know why your natural gas service costs more and what we're doing to keep your rates fair. That's why the shareholders of Mountain Fuel have paid for this message. Your rates for natural gas are still among the lowest in the nation. Here's why: Our Supplies. Although rising gas costs are a national phenomenon, we pay significantly less than most other gas utilities because our supplies include lower-cost lower-cost gas from our own wells and pipelines. We've avoided unwise new purchase contracts con-tracts for higher-priced gas that are at the root of the much larger increases in natural gas prices projected for other parts of the country. Good business practices. We're making every reasonable effort to hold the line on business expenses. We have held the size of our work force relatively rela-tively constant even though the number of customers and, consequently, the demand de-mand for natural gas service are rising. And we continually review all of the costs of providing pro-viding service to you to make sure they are in line with good business practices. An efficient delivery system. Since 1929, we've built a natural gas delivery system that is second to none in reducing waste and ensuring that you receive the most from your energy dollar. Its reliability is unmatched in the over 50 years of our existence, Utah customers have never experienced a major supply interruption. MOUNTAIN FUEL Supply Company |