{"id":5865,"date":"2026-09-24T15:39:39","date_gmt":"2026-09-24T20:39:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.georgiagassavings.com\/blog\/?p=5865"},"modified":"2026-09-24T15:39:41","modified_gmt":"2026-09-24T20:39:41","slug":"is-a-fixed-rate-or-variable-rate-gas-plan-best-for-an-el-nino-winter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.georgiagassavings.com\/blog\/is-a-fixed-rate-or-variable-rate-gas-plan-best-for-an-el-nino-winter\/","title":{"rendered":"Is a Fixed Rate or Variable Rate Gas Plan Best for an El Ni\u00f1o Winter?\u00a0\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Is a Variable Rate Gas Plan Good for El Ni\u00f1o?<\/h2>\n\n\n
\n
\"A
El Ni\u00f1os in Georgia usually make winters here cooler. We dig into the details to see how a variable rate gas plan could be a great deal.<\/em><\/center><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Depending on the weather, variable rate Georgia gas<\/a> plans could be a good option during El Ni\u00f1o winter. Our weather tends to be colder than average during El Ni\u00f1o. However, during super El Ni\u00f1o\u2019s past, there have been warmer periods. So, if the weather is warm and mild, skating through a few months on a variable plan and waiting for natural gas rates<\/a> to drop could be a good strategy. But let\u2019s dig into the details and discover if a fixed rate or variable rate gas plan is best for an El Ni\u00f1o winter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why a Variable Rate Gas Plan Could Pay Off<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Several factors pointing to variable rates as a potentially good idea heading into an El Ni\u00f1o winter. Firstly, natural gas prices have been trending slightly lower. Additionally, the EIA<\/a> predicts prices will decline overall in 2027. If that trend continues, waiting to lock in a fixed rate later could pay off.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Weather could also work in your favor. The 2015\u20132016 super El Ni\u00f1o brought the U.S. an unusually warm December. Similar weather this year would lead to lower demand. Lower demand in turn puts downward pressure on wholesale natural gas prices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And there\u2019s something else on your side: introductory variable rates. There are currently three introductory variable rate plans that offer low rates for the first month or two. For example, Georgia Natural Gas\u00ae<\/a><\/strong> has an intro variable rate of $0.399 for two months. Better yet, it drops down to $0.349 with their Greener Life\u00ae program free for one year. Keep in mind that following the intro period, the rate will be the natural gas provider\u2019s<\/a> standard variable rate. That rate today sits at $2.359, according to the GAPSC<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Waiting for Lower Rates Is Still a Gamble<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The only problem with this strategy is rates may not fall. If fact, there isn’t much evidence that natural gas prices are headed for a dramatic decline. The EIA’s projected decrease for 2027 is modest, from $3.43-$3.28 wholesale. Meanwhile, natural gas storage levels heading into winter are around their five-year average. That’s enough to provide a reasonable supply cushion. But it doesn’t point toward a major drop in prices we see with high storage numbers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Additionally, lower wholesale prices don’t translate to large savings on variable rate plans compared to fixed rates. Even during periods when Henry Hub spot prices have fallen sharply, standard variable rates will also drop, but they stay relatively high compared to fixed rates. Even during a warm winter, you\u2019ll still be using more gas than summer most likely. And at high variable rates, those therms add up quickly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, grabbing an introductory variable rate for a month or two now could put you in a good position to get a lower fixed rate before<\/em><\/strong> winter. It\u2019s very unlikely we\u2019ll see such a mild winter or such a massive drop in fixed rates that sticking to a standard variable rate would be worth it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Predictions suggest we\u2019re in for warmer than average weather this fall. That makes it the perfect time to shop for your next plan, today at https:\/\/www.georgiagassavings.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Is a Variable Rate Gas Plan Good for El Ni\u00f1o? Depending on […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":5873,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mbp_gutenberg_autopost":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[161,47],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5865","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-compare-natural-gas-rates","category-variable-rates"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.georgiagassavings.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5865","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.georgiagassavings.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.georgiagassavings.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.georgiagassavings.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.georgiagassavings.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5865"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.georgiagassavings.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5865\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5876,"href":"https:\/\/www.georgiagassavings.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5865\/revisions\/5876"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.georgiagassavings.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5873"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.georgiagassavings.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5865"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.georgiagassavings.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5865"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.georgiagassavings.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5865"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}