Natural gas rates drop for Lehigh Valley and western N.J. - lehighvalleylive.com
Natural gas rates drop for Lehigh Valley and western N.J. - lehighvalleylive.com
Natural gas customers in the Lehigh Valley and western New Jersey should be seeing some relief in their bills, effective Wednesday.
UGI Utilities Inc., which serves Lehigh and Northampton counties, announced that a decrease in its purchased gas costs will cut the average residential customer’s bill by 8%, from $124.49 per month to $114.51 per month.
The announcement comes after UGI had raised its commodity charge for residential natural gas service by about 40.7% since May 31, according to past-price data from the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission’s pagasswitch.com. UGI was not alone, as energy prices have risen sharply for electricity and heating oil, as well.
UGI did not immediately release the new rate taking effect Wednesday in terms of the price per 100 cubic feet ( ccf) that appears on customer bills.
“As we now see lower wholesale prices for our gas purchase activity following the increases leading into the winter period, UGI is pleased to pass along these lower costs to our customers,” Paul Szykman, UGI’s chief regulatory officer, said in a statement. “Natural gas remains an excellent energy choice, backed by local, reliable shale gas supplies. UGI recognizes affordability is important to our customers and we strive to bring all customers a balance of affordability, reliability and carbon smart energy choice with our natural gas service offering.”
By law, utilities are required to pass the cost of the natural gas they purchase directly through to customers without any markup, UGI said in its announcement.
Serving Warren and Hunterdon counties, South Jersey Industries’ Elizabethtown Gas subsidiary announced it was voluntarily lowering its gas supply rate by about 30% as of Wednesday.
The Periodic Basic Gas Supply Service (BGSS-P) rate reduction will decrease the monthly bill of a typical residential heating customer by $44.98 or 30.2%, compared to the company’s previous rates, according to the announcement.
“Since our original BGSS filing in June 2022, commodity gas prices and market forecasts have shifted significantly,” Deborah Franco, vice president of rates, regulatory and sustainability for SJI Utilities, said in a statement. “We are acting swiftly to make sure our customers promptly benefit from improved market conditions.”
Elizabethtown Gas said it will continue to monitor natural gas market conditions and the company’s costs to determine whether future adjustments related to its BGSS-P rate filed with the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities are appropriate.
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Kurt Bresswein may be reached at kbresswein@lehighvalleylive.com.