With gas bills in hand, about 50 local residents attended a public hearing Monday focusing on the recent increase in natural gas prices.

Michael Callahan, public service commissioner for the southern district, said the high cost of natural gas is the result of market conditions and mild winters in recent years.

Because natural gas has been so cheap the last decade, many electricity companies switched to natural gas from the less environmentally-friendly coal, he said.

But as the demand for natural gas, and the dependency on it, increased, so did the price. One unit of gas in December 1999 cost just more than $2 compared to $10 this winter.

Callahan said he hopes investors who dropped out of the natural gas business when the market was bad will jump back in, causing the supply to increase and the price to return to normal.

&uot;Hopefully, by April, May or June, we’ll have all this over with,&uot; Callahan said.

Responding to customer complaints, the Mississippi Public Service Commission issued an order earlier this month asking gas companies to &uot;exercise caution in disconnecting customers who cannot pay their bills.&uot;

&uot;We have racked our brains to try to figure out what we can do on the state level to help the citizens of Mississippi,&uot; Callahan said.

The order also asks the companies to refrain from disconnecting customers who show a &uot;good faith effort&uot; in paying their bills.

Jerry Moore, manager for Mississippi Valley Gas Company, said customers approved for government assistance paying their bills will not be disconnected.

But several residents at the hearing said they signed up for assistance from AJFC Community Action Agency weeks ago and have not been contacted.

The AJFC, which serves seven counties in southwest Mississippi including Adams County, was recently awarded Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program funds to assist the needy in paying energy bills.

&uot;They (at AJFC) said all they could do was take my name and number and they’d call me, but they never have called me,&uot; said Clarence Reed, a concerned gas customer.

Moore said the gas company has no way of knowing who has signed up for assistance and those making a &uot;good faith effort&uot; should contact Mississippi Valley Gas Company. Otherwisem their service could still be disconnected.

At the suggestion of Ward 1 Alderwoman Joyce Arceneauz, the aldermen decided to invited AJFC director Lamar Braxton to the board meeting today relay the qualifications for LIHEAP&160;assistance and determine what can be done to improve communication between the agency and the gas company.

&uot;What I see as the basic problems that have come out today are procedural problems,&uot; Mayor F.L. &uot;Hank&uot; Smith said. &uot;With all of us involved, we can hopefully streamline that process.&uot;

Following the hearing, Braxton said AJFC has $717,179 to divide between seven counties for energy assistance for the entire year. With 3,912 on the waiting list as of last week, he said his agency has already approved 743 applications since January 1.

Because of the number of requests, application approval is taking time, but &uot;we are really working on it,&uot; he said.