(10/30/06) WOODBURY - Despite falling market rates for natural gas, residents say they are bewildered that KeySpan is keeping their gas heating rates the same.

After hurricanes Katrina and Rita destroyed much of the Gulf Coast's natural gas infrastructure, prices skyrocketed. According to KeySpan's David Manning, the company purchased its stock from Canada and never paid such rates. Manning says despite this, prices from contracts the company entered into with Canadian distributors last year are still more expensive than the current market's supply. He says KeySpan uses both old and new natural gas in order to keep rates at a constant middle of the road.

Many homeowners say they do not trust the energy company. A Huntington restaurant owner complains that with KeySpan's monopoly over the Long Island market, he is held hostage to pay whatever it demands.