CORNELIUS, N.C. — If you ask Karen Capone and Eleanor Berry, life gets better with age.
"We like to drink wine," Capone said. "Playing cards and drinking wine.”
They both moved from out of state and retired in North Carolina.
“They call them the golden years," Berry said.
But instead of worrying about whether to call or fold, they're left trying to figure out how to pay a much larger gas bill.
“I get my bill and I say 'oops I forgot to pay last month's gas bill,'" Capone said. "That's what I thought because normally my bills are $30-50. And then I was shocked. And then I’m looking and I see this notice, and it says 'by the way we are increasing you.'”
She noticed over the years, the gas rates climbed. Capone said in January 2020, the rate was 88 cents. In 2022, it was $1.06. In 2023, the rate went up to $1.64.
"We’re on a fixed income, most people in their 70s are on Social Security," Capone said.
Eleanor Berry said she tried to figure out why her bills were so high. She said she only heats her house to 68 degrees when she wakes up in the morning.
“I usually do lots of baking and lots of cooking," Berry said. "But I didn’t do any of that this year because I was having surgery on my back.”
Capone and Berry took their concerns to the North Carolina Utilities Commission. James McLawhorn, Director of the Energy Division of the Public Staff, told WCNC Charlotte the case of wholesale gas climbed drastically.
“The wholesale price of gas was in the three, four dollar range last year, and last year it went to the eight to nine dollar range," he said.
McLawhorn said companies like Dominion Energy buy gas from sellers in the Gulf of Mexico, but those sellers saw a huge spike in demand following the invasion of Ukraine.
“Russia supplied a lot of the natural gas from Europe," McLawhorn said. "Companies started exporting that gas in tankers to Europe to help out.”
McLawhorn added economic struggles like labor shortages also drove up prices.
“I’m mad as hell and I’m not going to take it anymore," Capone said.
Capone said she is doing fine, but worries for others in worse financial situations.
“I’m speaking out for the single mother with three kids," she noted.
Berry said she fears for the later generations.
“They’ll never have enough to have a home to pay bills like this," she said.
The NCUC said if you are having difficulties paying your bill, you can contact your gas company. McLawhorn said if you aren't satisfied you are encouraged to contact the Public Staff Division about opportunities regarding deferred payments or programs.
Contact Austin Walker at awalker@wcnc.com and follow him on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.