Two weeks ago I wrote:

But prices might go lower. For now in the Hancock household, we're sticking with BGE's standard commodity price [for natural gas], which has fallen to 84.6 cents for March from $1.05 in December. Based on what the futures market is saying, I'll be shocked if BGE's April price isn't in the 70s and if we don't hit the 60s at some point.

Wrong again! BGE just posted its commodity gas price for April -- 57.92 cents per therm -- a huge drop from December and down 63 percent from last summer's high of $1.5763. Energy prices have popped up again in recent weeks, so it may not be quite that low next month. But certainly there is no reason to take the fixed-price offer from BGE Home (a separate company owned by BGE parent Constellation energy) of 99 cents.

And unless you expect a Gulf Coast hurricane or a stunning economic revival, the WGES fixed-price offer of 72 cents per therm doesn't seem too competitive, either. It makes sense to stay with BGE's standard gas price, which floats from month to month. Wait until October, when it's very possible the fixed-price offers from alternative vendors could be much better. (The gas commodity price is what you pay for the evaporated hydrocarbons piped into your house. You pay extra for delivery etc.)