Compare fixed rate natural gas plans in Georgia. How fixed rates work, when they save money, and what to watch for.
A fixed rate plan locks your per-therm supply rate for the length of the contract. If you sign a 12-month plan at 49.9¢ per therm, you pay 49.9¢ in January and 49.9¢ in July, no matter what the wholesale market does. For most Georgia households it is the sensible default, and it is the plan type most marketers lead with when you compare Georgia natural gas rates.
Only the supply rate. Your bill still moves with the seasons, because you burn far more gas in winter. And Atlanta Gas Light delivery charges sit outside the contract entirely — they are set by the Georgia Public Service Commission and are identical across marketers. A fixed rate protects you from price volatility, not from winter.
Marketers on the AGL system publish terms from six months to three years. Longer terms usually carry a slightly higher rate: the marketer is absorbing more price risk and charges for it. The common shapes are:
Choose fixed if a predictable rate matters more to you than the chance of a cheaper month. That covers most households, and especially anyone on a tight budget, anyone heating a larger home, and anyone who would rather not re-check the market every few weeks. Fixed plans also remove the single most expensive failure mode in this market: drifting onto an uncapped variable rate without noticing.
You give up the upside. If wholesale prices fall sharply, you keep paying your locked rate while variable customers benefit. Fixed plans also normally carry an early termination fee if you leave before the term ends — frequently $50 to $150, sometimes scaled to months remaining. Read that figure before signing, particularly if you might move.
Two fixed plans a tenth of a cent apart are effectively identical; the differences that matter are elsewhere.
When a fixed term expires, most contracts roll you onto a month-to-month variable rate automatically. That rate is frequently far above what you were paying and above what new customers are offered. Marketers are required to notify you, but those notices are easy to miss.
Put a reminder in your calendar for one month before your term ends, then re-shop. This single habit protects more money than picking the perfect rate in the first place. See how to switch Georgia gas suppliers for the mechanics — switching is free and your service is never interrupted.
Every marketer’s current fixed offers, with terms and service charges side by side, are on the rate comparison page. Or look at a specific marketer: Georgia Natural Gas, SCANA Energy, Gas South, Constellation, True Natural Gas or XOOM Energy. Plans are the same across the AGL footprint, whether you are in Atlanta, Savannah or Augusta.