Allan Urlis Quotations

We're in the same circumstance as customers where we purchase the natural gas on the commodity market and then supply that to customers at the same cost that MidAmerican purchases where there is no markup.

We want them to call us, so payment arrangements can be made, so they can be put in contact with any assistance that's available.

Typically, when there's damage to the weatherhead and the meter box, the city inspector would need to look at it before we could reconnect. But in this circumstance, where there are so many cases like that, the city inspection is not required before we restore service.

There is a combo of factors. Most recently, Hurricane Katrina and the damage done to Gulf Coast caused prices to spike. But even prior to Katrina, prices were already higher than last year. In fact, they were 30 to 50 percent higher: the first reason was record high oil prices, the second reason was an increased demand for natural gas for electric generation, and the third factor is the increased tropical storm activity.

We were literally rebuilding our electrical distribution system. This was definitely a severe storm and had significant damage to our system and the customers' property.

There's still some turned off at the meter yet because work still needs to be done to repair those.

There's no way of telling whether Katrina and its impact will be a temporary disruption or whether it will be more permanent damage to infrastructure in the Gulf.

The worst thing to do is not make a telephone call.

That turned out to be $21 more per month or 22 percent higher.

If there's damage to the service mast (weatherhead) or the meter socket, that's customer-owned equipment, and a licensed electrician needs to make repairs to that equipment before we can reconnect. After a licensed electrician does that work, the customer calls us, lets us know the work has been completed and then we will restore service.

I CARE helps pay heating bills or assists in making homes more energy efficient. Tax-deductible donations help local community action agencies provide valuable financial assistance, which is especially needed in winter as heating bills rise.

The Department of Energy indicated for the Midwest that there would be a 35 percent increase in heating costs. That was in August, before Katrina. I have not seen that figure revised.