PSE Seeks Natural Gas Rates 4 Percent Lower Than Last Winter
Proposed Rates are in Addition to Lower Natural Gas and Electric Rates Effective Tomorrow
Lower natural gas rates went into effect Nov. 1
Oct. 27, 2011 UTC news release
BELLEVUE, Wash. (Sept. 30, 2011) — Just in time for the winter heating season, Puget Sound Energy today filed a request with Washington state regulators to decrease natural gas rates by an overall 4.3 percent for all customer groups who purchase gas from PSE.
If approved by the Utilities and Transportation Commission (UTC), the decreased natural gas rate will reduce the average household natural-gas bill (based on 68 therms of average monthly usage over a 12-month period) by 4 percent, or $3.39, to $81.59, about what PSE customers were paying in 2006. The proposed lower rates are requested to go into effect Nov. 1.
The requested rate decrease was filed under a UTC-approved Purchased Gas Adjustment rate-setting mechanism that allows Washington state’s natural gas utilities to periodically adjust rates, up or down, to reflect changes in the price of natural gas charged by producers and wholesale marketers. PSE does not profit on the cost of natural gas purchased for customers.
PSE’s proposal to lower natural gas rates beginning Nov. 1 is on top of another rate decrease going into effect on Oct. 1.
The UTC on Sept. 28 approved natural gas and electric rates for households to decrease by 0.03 percent and 0.02 percent, respectively. The lowered rates are a result of a true-up adjustment reflecting the differences between the actual low-income assistance program costs and the revenues collected over the past year.
Also on Sept. 28, the UTC approved a pass-through—at an increased level—of the monthly electric-bill credit the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) provides for PSE’s residential and small farm customers. BPA is increasing the amount of federal power benefits it provides to PSE customers on Oct. 1, which will lower the average PSE household bill (based on 1,000 kilowatt hours) by 0.5 percent, or 50 cents, per month.
About Puget Sound Energy
Washington state’s oldest local energy utility, Puget Sound Energy serves more than 1 million electric customers and 750,000 natural gas customers in 11 counties. A subsidiary of Puget Energy, PSE meets the energy needs of its customers through incremental, cost-effective energy efficiency, procurement of sustainable energy resources, and far-sighted investment in the energy-delivery infrastructure. PSE employees are dedicated to providing great customer service and delivering energy that is safe, dependable and efficient. For more information, visit www.PSE.com.
Media Contact
Dorothy Bracken, 1-888-831-7250
PSENewsroom@pse.com