Officials from UGI Utilities Inc. has announced its purchased gas cost rates will not change when the new fiscal quarter begins June 1.
Natural gas companies are allowed to adjust rates at the beginning of each quarter to reflect the change in wholesale natural gas prices.
By law, utilities cannot earn a profit on the natural gas commodity portion of a customer’s bill. Utilities are required to pass the cost of the natural gas they purchase directly on to customers without any markup.
With wholesale rates holding steady, customers will not see increases next quarter.
Customers may, however, see a rate increase later this year.
Officials from UGI said they will submit a rate increase that would go into effect on Dec. 1 to the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission.
If those rates are approved by the PUC, they would have the following impacts:
• The monthly bill for a typical residential heating customer who uses 73.7 hundred cubic feet of natural gas would increase from $112.23 to $113.45, an increase of 1.1%.
• The monthly bill for a commercial customer using 28.3 thousand cubic feet would increase from $333.24 to $337.83, an increase of 1.4%.
• The monthly bill for an industrial customer using 75.4 thousand cubic feet would increase from $840.06 to $852.29, an increase of 1.5%.
For more information, customers may call UGI at 1-800-276-2722.
Customers with a limited or fixed income who may have difficulty paying their bill can visit ugi.com/customerassistance or call UGI at 1-800-UGI-WARM to determine if they are eligible for one of several energy assistance programs.
Source: Berkshire mont