Sept. 26, 2007
UG-071775

OLYMPIA, Wash. – Puget Sound Energy (PSE) customers will see their natural gas rates fall by 13 percent beginning Oct. 1.

The Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission (UTC) approved the utility’s request to reduce rates today in response to lower wholesale natural gas prices. The average bill for the typical PSE residential ratepayer using 68 therms will drop by $11.27 to $82.12 a month.

Once a year, the UTC adjusts customers’ rates to reflect the change in wholesale natural-gas costs. Natural gas utilities in Washington are not allowed to earn a profit on gas-commodity increases.

The decrease is the first for Puget Sound Energy in five years. In recent years, increases in wholesale natural-gas costs have led to higher retail rates.

“Our action today is good news for Puget Sound Energy customers,” said Commissioner Pat Oshie. “I’m pleased that ratepayers will benefit from lower natural gas prices. I only wish I could guarantee that these wholesale prices will stay low in the future.”

Three other natural-gas companies – Avista, Northwest Natural Gas and Cascade Natural Gas – have rate-reduction requests pending before the UTC. The commission will take up those proposals on Oct. 24.

Puget Sound Energy, the state’s largest natural-gas provider in the state, serves more than 721,000 natural-gas customers in parts of Snohomish, King, Pierce, Lewis, Thurston and Kittitas counties.

The three-member commission is the state agency in charge of regulating the private, investor-owned natural-gas utilities in Washington. It is the commission’s responsibility to ensure regulated companies provide safe and reliable service to customers at reasonable rates, while allowing them the opportunity to earn a fair profit.