Fort Hill Natural Gas Authority (FHNGA) Rate Selection Guide
Fort Hill Natural Gas Authority is a non-regulated South Carolina municipal gas authority (established 1952) serving 50,674 customers across Oconee, Pickens, and northern Anderson counties. Billing and monthly usage live in the eCARE portal with PDF downloads — but with analog meters and no Green Button, EDI, API, or third-party program, C&I energy teams should plan on customer-shared bills and case-by-case authorization with the utility.
Market Overview
Fort Hill is a non-regulated municipal natural gas authority — it is explicitly outside South Carolina Public Service Commission jurisdiction, with the SC Office of Regulatory Staff overseeing only safety matters. Rates and service standards are set by the authority's own board; gas distribution and commodity come bundled with no retail choice.
Need to pull your actual usage data to compare rates? See the Fort Hill Natural Gas Authority (FHNGA) Data Access Guide →
Current Rate Schedules
Fort Hill Natural Gas Authority (FHNGA) is a non-regulated municipal gas authority in Upstate South Carolina, so rates are set by the Authority board rather than the SC PSC and adjust periodically with gas costs. Business rates are bundled (delivery + commodity) per-therm or per-dekatherm prices tiered by customer size: General Commercial, Large Commercial, Firm Industrial (declining block in dekatherms), Interruptible, and a Transportation Service for very large industrial loads (500+ Dt/day) that buy their own gas. Rates shown are effective with the May 2026 billing cycle.
Effective: May 1, 2026 · Full Tariff Book →
| Schedule | Type | Applicability | Structure | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| General Commercial — Rate Code 02 | commercial | All commercial/industrial customers in selling, warehousing, professional, or small industrial activity not fitting a larger classification | Fixed monthly charge $14.00 + bundled gas charge $1.15/therm; 6% late payment penalty. | $1.15/therm + $14.00/month |
| Large Commercial — Rate Code 04 | commercial | Accounts averaging >70 therms/day with summer (Jun-Aug) usage of at least 1,700 therms/month | Fixed monthly charge $32.00 + bundled gas charge $1.05/therm. | $1.05/therm + $32.00/month |
| Firm Industrial — Rate Code 06 | industrial | Accounts averaging >35 dekatherms/day with summer usage of at least 700 Dt/month, subject to system capacity | Fixed monthly charge $225.00 + declining-block gas charges: first 1,000 Dt at $9.77/Dt, next 2,000 at $9.03, next 3,000 at $8.64, above 6,000 Dt at $8.37/Dt. | $8.37-$9.77/Dt declining block |
| Interruptible Service | industrial | Industrial process loads averaging >100 Dt/day that maintain an operational alternate-fuel system (space/water heating incidental only) | Fixed monthly charge $325.00; dekatherm-billed gas charges at discounted interruptible pricing in exchange for curtailment rights — see Authority for current per-Dt rates. | — |
| Transportation Service | industrial | Industrial customers with average daily usage of 500 dekatherms or greater that contract with the Authority | Customer procures its own gas supply; FHNGA charges firm transportation/delivery on its distribution system under an annual contract (November 1 through October 31). Terms negotiated per agreement. | — |
Rate Recommendations by Use Case
C&I bill data collection
Register accounts in eCARE and centralize PDF statements — the portal is the only repeatable data channel.
With no API, EDI, or aggregator coverage, eCARE downloads plus a consumption tracking spreadsheet are the practical workflow.
- Keep the Fort Hill account number handy for registration
- Download statements monthly and log Therms/CCF
- Request annual consumption reports from (864) 859-6375 for forecasting
Consultant engagements
Work from customer-provided documents rather than waiting on utility-side authorization.
Fort Hill has no formal third-party program and may decline access requests; customer-downloaded eCARE statements arrive in days, not weeks.
- Get written customer authorization on file anyway for audit trail
- Have the customer email Customer.Service@fhnga.com confirming any delegation
- Budget 5-20 business days if pursuing direct utility authorization
Energy management platform integration
Treat FHNGA accounts as manual-upload utilities with monthly granularity only.
Analog meters and zero programmatic infrastructure mean PDF/OCR ingestion is the only pipeline; interval analytics are not possible.
- Standardize OCR on FHNGA bill formats
- Supplement with customer self-reads for custom-period analysis
- Recheck periodically for portal or metering upgrades
Cost Optimization Strategies
As a bundled municipal gas authority, FHNGA offers fewer procurement levers than regulated SC utilities — but rate classification, interruptible service, and (for the largest loads) transportation service still move the bill meaningfully. Rates adjust with the Authority's gas costs, so the savings hierarchy is: get on the right rate code, then trade firmness for price where operations allow.
Rate classification review
For: Growing commercial accounts near the 70 therms/day or 35 Dt/day thresholds
Large Commercial (Rate 04) prices gas at $1.05/therm versus $1.15 on General Commercial — a ~9% commodity discount. Accounts averaging >70 therms/day with steady summer load should confirm placement; similarly, loads exceeding 35 Dt/day should evaluate Firm Industrial's declining blocks ($0.837-$0.977/therm equivalent).
Interruptible service with alternate fuel
For: Industrial process loads >100 Dt/day with alternate-fuel capability
Process loads >100 Dt/day that can maintain backup fuel (propane, oil) qualify for interruptible pricing below firm industrial rates. Curtailments in Upstate SC are infrequent, making this attractive for facilities with dual-fuel boilers.
Transportation service for very large loads
For: Industrial accounts averaging 500+ Dt/day
At 500+ Dt/day, customers can buy their own gas from a marketer and pay FHNGA only for delivery — decoupling commodity cost from the Authority's bundled rate and enabling fixed-price hedging on the supply side.
Summer baseload and load-factor management
For: Seasonal or weather-sensitive C&I accounts
Eligibility for Rate 04 and Firm Industrial depends on maintaining minimum June-August usage. Facilities with discretionary summer load (e.g., absorption cooling, process scheduling) can protect their lower-priced classification by keeping summer therms above the floor.
Efficiency and weather normalization
For: All commercial and industrial accounts
With bundled per-therm pricing, every therm avoided saves the full $1.05-$1.15 rate. High-efficiency boilers, condensing water heaters, steam-trap maintenance, and building controls deliver direct savings; weather-normalize usage year over year to verify results.
To implement these strategies, you need your 15-minute interval data. Learn how to download Fort Hill Natural Gas Authority (FHNGA) interval data →
Frequently Asked Questions
Can commercial customers get interval gas data from Fort Hill?▾
No. Fort Hill uses traditional analog meters with no documented AMI deployment, so no 15/30-minute or hourly data exists through any system. The only granularity is monthly billing-period consumption (Therms/CCF) in the eCARE portal, supplemented by manual self-reads using the utility's dial-reading guide.
Does Fort Hill support Green Button, EDI, or an API?▾
No. There is no Green Button or ESPI implementation, no EDI infrastructure or trading partner program (FHNGA is distribution-only, not a transporter), and no developer portal or API. The eCARE portal with PDF downloads is the only data channel.
How does a consultant access a client's Fort Hill billing data?▾
Most practically: the customer downloads statements from eCARE and shares them directly. Alternatively, negotiate delegated access — the customer authorizes the third party in writing, the consultant contacts (864) 859-6375 or Customer.Service@fhnga.com with an engagement letter and authorization, and Fort Hill processes the request case-by-case (5-20 business days, no SLA, and the utility may decline since no formal program exists).
Why doesn't the SC Public Service Commission regulate Fort Hill?▾
FHNGA is a non-jurisdictional municipal Natural Gas Authority. The SC Office of Regulatory Staff states it has no authority over non-jurisdictional utilities except safety, so PSC rate regulation, tariff filings, and data protection standards (S.C. Code Regs. § 103-823.2) do not apply. Rates and data policies are set by the authority's board.
What billing data is available in the eCARE portal?▾
Current bill and charges, multiple months of billing history with PDF downloads, account balance, usage charges with monthly consumption in Therms/CCF, and payment management. Register at ecare.fhnga.com with your account number, email, and mailing zip code. There is no CSV/XML export or API.
What should large C&I customers do for automated billing integration?▾
Contact the business team at (864) 859-6375 to discuss custom arrangements — EDI is unavailable, but Fort Hill may refer you to billing service providers that interface with its systems or fulfill direct data file export requests. Annual consumption reports can also be requested from customer service for forecasting.
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