Residential gas demand charges

Tom Blackwell

We own a house in the Atlanta area that has radiant slabs, previously heated with an 80% cast iron boiler. 3 years ago ,after gas was de-regulated in that area Atlanta Gas Light convinced the PSC to let thim tack on a demand charge. I tried for several months to get an explanation of how this was calculated, but never got an answer. The demand charge for this residence was in excess of $35.00 per month all year, even if no gas was used. I finally had the gas turned off and installed a heat pump to heat the heating water, which has a 2,000 gallon storage tank. This works quite well and averages about a dollar per therm, compared to 5 dollars plus with demand charge for gas. Has anyone else seen this?