How low?
You can compare your usage to past years on pge.com (which also shows the low, high, and average temperature of each billing cycle). Of course, if gas prices are higher that can be reflected in the bill.
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62 and 64 degrees F.
Yes, I will definitely check last year’s bills. I expected something higher, but not like this.
Do you have a fireplace 
They have been all the rage in our neighborhood. My older neighbor’s bill was $900. She cannot afford it. And she was convinced to switch out her wood burning fireplace for a beautiful, cleaner gas burning one. I’ll go grab her some more space heaters to see if we cannot get the bill a little lower. I write this with two wooly sweaters and a fleece robe on. 
Edited to add: she’s also super thin. I told her an insulating layer of fat would also be beneficial. So I’ll take some high calorie meals over as well.
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Holy JP Morgan! Here in my neck of the Seattle woods, I thought the $200 we paid for gas (furnace, bbq, cooktop, water, and dryer!) in January was rather high.
Like minds think alike!
We do have a fireplace, but it’s only on one floor, and can’t heat the entire house.
We may need to explore the space heater idea if this keeps up. We did have a cold wave here, but NOTHING like the rest of the country.
And we find that sleeping is easier when it’s cooler, not hotter. So our thermostats are lower. We have smart ones, but maybe I have been remiss in not programming them better.
Are we getting ready to ship our LNG to Europe?
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I laugh…and then I cry. (Just to add, this also includes the electricity).
My home has been heated with natural gas since it was built in 1971. We added a Wolf gas cooktop when we remodeled 15+ years ago. At that time, we switched out the exhaust hood/fan to one much more powerful and rated for that appliance. It is turned on before we turn on the stove. It amazes me how many people either don’t have a fan that exhausts outdoors or rely on the silly microwave + fan over the stove.
Our gas fireplace has saved us from freezing when the power goes out, a very common occurrence in my area.
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Great point. Her thermostat is an old dial-type one. I’ll have to go over and investigate.
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The phrase “holy JP Morgan!” comes from a cartoon. I think it was called Recess: School is out 
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Definitely. It’s not TOO difficult to switch out an analog thermostat for a smart one. Just make sure, if she decides to do this, that she gets an HVAC tech to do it.
I ordered our smart thermostats from Amazon a few years back and thought I would get the Geek Squad from Best Buy to install. The guys were nice, but kinda’ clueless. They weren’t able to install.
I called the HVAC company, and their tech installed two a in matter of minutes at less cost than the Geek Squad.
I have alerted my family to be careful about gas consumption. Wearing warm clothes is the path of least and cheapest resistance!
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If you have two gas heaters, and one of them heats a portion of the house not used while people are sleeping, program it to be off (or a very low temperature) when people are sleeping.
Yes, a programmable thermostat that can substantially reduce energy use when not needed, if she has predictable times in and out, or prefers different temperatures at different times of day (common to lower it at night).
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In many cases, replacing a thermostat is an easy DIY job.
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No idea. But I’m interested in finding out. My sense is that this is policy related, but it could be other factors.
Boy howdy, as they say! We had the power go out here for a while. The fireplace was great. I’ve stocked up on wood since then.
If the power goes out, and if finances allow, I would also suggest a decent-sized gas generator (you can get a good one for $500-$800) AND an inverter battery. I got all this stuff for earthquakes in the Bay Area, but have found them very useful for power outages.
Word to the wise: try to come up with redunancies wherever possible. For example, if the natural gas is out, we have a BBQ and a few spare propane tanks if the gas ever goes (which has never happened).
I hope all this is not too far off the main topic of this thread!
Both heat places where folks sleep in our house.
Not to the Geek Squad! I got a refund back, but it was amazing to me to watch the HVAC tech install in a few minutes.
I agree with you, but tackling HVAC stuff by myself is not within my gift.
Going back to gas stove ban in CA… This is the peer-reviewed paper everyone references that detected benzene in the air samples taken from homes… If anyone wants to read this (I only skimmed for now but will read it when I have a chance). A quick glance raised a few questions that may or may not have answers in the paper.
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Thermostat installation is typically just connecting a few wires according to the included instructions and mounting the thermostat on the wall. It is not like running ductwork, connecting pipes, etc…
@BunsenBurner, how DARE you bring us back on topic! (Just kidding)
I very look forward to your continued commentary on the issues with natural gas. As a CA resident, I have absolutely no issues if, when we next have to buy a stove, that it be electric. In the interim, I would be very interested in how to reduce the damage to our family and to the environment with what we have now.
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Geek Squad? Have they ever seen a two-wire mercury thermostat? 
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