A 385% Gas-Bill Jump Stuns Californians Facing Cold, Wet Winter

Nationwide, wholesale natural gas prices prices have fallen about 50%. The opposite trend has emerged in the Golden State, where prices have risen 63%.

A drilling rig next to homes in a residential neighborhood near a natural gas storage facility in the Playa del Rey neighborhood of Los Angeles.Photographer: Bing Guan/Bloomberg
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Andra Bard knew her gas bill was going to rise significantly. But nothing prepared her for a 385% increase.

This week, the 52 year-old who lives in Santa Monica, California, opened her statement to find she owes $330 for the month of January. Bard looked back at old bills and crunched the numbers. She paid an average of $68 a month the past year.