Equitable, Dominion Peoples and Columbia Gas all have raised prices as we gear up for the winter months. The increases are not drastic, but as we start using more gas, we might feel the bite in our budgets.

The gas choice program was designed to save us money, but it is struggling these days. There is no such thing as cheap natural gas, so if you've never picked a gas supplier, now is not the time to start.

Just for review, remember you cannot switch between regulated utility companies. You have Equitable Gas Co., Dominion Peoples or Columbia Gas of Pennsylvania because of where you live. There is no choice there.

You can pick a gas supply company. That would affect the supply portion of your bill.

There are several companies from which to choose.

I am showing you prices for the gas supplier Dominion Peoples Plus, the most active company in our area. This company doesn't charge a fee if you want to leave and lets you change prices mid-contract. That's very nice, but probably still not enough incentive to get customers to change this time around. Dominion Peoples Plus is offering prices through October of next year -- the gas companies set their prices for the next three months.

Here's the way the numbers stack up for the next three months:

If you are an Equitable Gas customer, you are paying $10.21 per mcf (1,000 cubic feet) through the end of the year, plus a gas cost adjustment charge of $1.60 per mcf. That's still lower than the price the gas supplier Dominion Peoples Plus is charging new Equitable Gas customers who switch: $12.80 per mcf through October 2008.

If you are a Dominion Peoples customer, as of yesterday, you are paying $8.48 per mcf, plus a 62 cent gas cost adjustment, compared with $10.29 per mcf charged by the gas supplier Dominion Peoples Plus through next October.

Columbia Gas customers are getting the best deal at the regulated utility. Columbia Gas is charging 86 cents per ccf (100 cubic feet) plus a 5 cent gas cost adjustment. Dominion Peoples Plus is offering gas choice at 99 cents per ccf.

So why would anyone want to switch to Dominion Peoples Plus? Spokeswoman Kim Kujbus points out that the choice prices are guaranteed through the winter months and there is no guarantee what your regulated utilities will be charging come Jan. 1.

That's true, but you'll be paying that same price in the summer months when prices traditionally go down. Then again, we don't use much gas in the summer.

Even so, it makes no sense to call up and switch to a higher price. It might make sense to switch back to your regulated utility company. If you do so after being away for more than a year, you do not pay the gas cost adjustment for a year. That means a really nice price this year, but then you are back to where you started.

As always, it's your choice.