Natural gas rates for Puget Sound Energy will rise about 10 percent this fall to cover a rise in wholesale prices, the Utilities and Transportation Commissioner announced Thursday.
The change means that the average residential customer, defined as someone using about 68 therms each month, will pay an extra $8.49 for a total bill of about $90.61.
The seasonal rate change is a pass-through request that allows PSE to recoup higher costs for gas. The company is not allowed to make a profit from such requests.
Commission spokeswoman Marilyn Meehan said the new price is about what people paid two years ago. Last year, the agency ordered a 13 percent decrease in rates charged by the company, which supplies most residents of Snohomish County.
The company is the state’s largest supplier of natural gas and serves 737,000 customers in Snohomish, King, Pierce, Lewis, Thurston and Kittitas counties.
In a written statement, Bert Valdman, the company’s chief operating officer, said gas prices had increased significantly since the rate decrease. He noted that they have recently flattened out.
By law, companies have to file a gas cost adjustment at least once every 15 months to ensure prices remain current.
In addition to the pass-through increase, the company is also seeking approval to charge customers another $4 a month to help support gas lines and other needed infrastructure.
If approved by the state, that increase would take effect Nov. 1.
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