PA: Natural gas bills to rise again

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November 2, 2000

Natural gas bills to rise again

By Keith Gushard The Meadville Tribune

Get ready to pay even more for natural gas.

National Fuel Gas Distribution Corp. has filed for a 9.3 percent increase in its purchased gas cost rate with Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission. The new increase went into effect Wednesday and is on top of an 18.7 percent increase filed back in September.

It will raise the average residential customer's bill $8.38 a month - from $89.95 to $98.33 per month, said Nancy Taylor, a spokeswoman with National Fuel's Erie office.

It means residential bills will be more than 27 percent higher this winter than they were last winter, Taylor said. In November 1999, the average residential bill was $77.36 a month.

Under PUC regulations, natural gas utilities can't make a profit on the cost of gas they purchase from suppliers. Gas costs must be passed through to customers on a dollar-for-dollar basis. However, the rates can be adjusted - up or down - on a quarterly basis.

The increases are a direct result of increases in national wholesale prices for natural gas, she said.

"It's dependent on supply and demand," said Taylor. "There's been an increased demand. Part of it is natural gas is used for electric power generation. There was a demand for electricity this summer."

There also were low market prices for natural gas for the past several years which didn't encourage drilling activity, Taylor said. While drilling for gas has increased, it will be some time before new gas arrives, she said.

Much of the natural gas drilled in northwestern Pennsylvania is directly bought by area manufacturing firms and other businesses on the open market, she said.

"We do try to buy what we can locally," Taylor said. "National Fuel acts only as a transporter in those (industrial) cases."

Weather is another factor in pricing, Taylor said. The past two winters have been considered warmer than average and if normal winter conditions return, it means more demand and subsequent higher prices, she said.

The next time National Fuel could file for an adjustment in its purchased gas cost rate would be February 2001, she said.

National Fuel does offer a budget billing plan to level out gas bills over a year. It also has a number of programs available to help low-income customers.

Persons with questions about billing and assistance programs should call the utility, toll-free, at (800) 365-3234.

National Fuel has about 214,000 customers in 14 counties in northwestern Pennsylvania, including Crawford County.

http://www.metromead.com/news/1102b.html

-- Martin Thompson (mthom1927@aol.com), November 03, 2000


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