Company Projects Additional Decrease for December 1
UGI Utilities – Gas Division (UGI) announced that its purchased gas cost rates will decrease on June 1, 2018. As a result, the average residential heating customer’s bill will decrease by approximately 2.8 percent.
UGI will also submit its December 1 natural gas cost rate projection in an annual filing with the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PUC). At this time, UGI projects an additional decrease of 9.5 percent from the rates implemented on June 1, 2018.
“Natural gas continues to be an excellent long-term value thanks to a local, plentiful and reliable supply,” Paul Szykman, UGI Chief Regulatory Officer, said. “While other home heating fuels have experienced price increases, clean, abundant, locally-produced natural gas continues to see stable prices that benefit our residential customers and offer a competitive advantage for Pennsylvania businesses.”
UGI is required to file its gas cost rates annually for review with the PUC and may adjust these rates quarterly to reflect changes 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 through to customers without any markup.
Beginning June 1, the bill for a typical residential heating customer who uses 60.8 hundred cubic feet (ccf) of natural gas per month will decrease from $71.38 to $69.36. If UGI’s proposed rates for December 1 are approved, that bill will decrease to $62.76.
The bill for a typical commercial retail customer using 43.9 thousand cubic feet (Mcf) per month will decrease from $457.91 per month to $443.58 on June 1, and decrease to $396.64 on December 1. The bill for a typical industrial retail customer using 149.8 Mcf per month will decrease from $1,524.14 per month to $1,475.27 on June 1 and decrease to $1,314.92 on December 1.
Customers may call UGI at 1-800-276-2722 to receive further information on the proposed rates or to find out what actions they may take. UGI encourages customers to use energy wisely and make efficiency improvements in their homes. All customers are encouraged to sign up for UGI’s free budget billing program, which spreads bills out over a 12-month period. Customers with a limited or fixed income should call UGI at 1-800- UGI-WARM to determine if they are eligible for one of several energy assistance programs. Finally, any customer who is behind on their gas bills should contact the utility as soon as possible to discuss a payment arrangement.
UGI’s Gas Division is headquartered in Reading, PA and serves approximately 400,000 customers in 16 southeastern Pennsylvania counties. Additional information about UGI Gas Division is available at www.ugi.com.
