6.55 Percent Drop for Residential Customers
SALEM, Ore. — Most natural gas customers in Oregon will pay a little less to heat their homes and businesses this coming winter.The Oregon Public Utility Commission approved rate adjustments Monday for all three of the state’s natural gas companies — Northwest Natural, Avista Utilities and Cascade Natural Gas, effective Tuesday.“For the third year in a row, customers of Northwest Natural and Cascade Natural Gas will pay a little less for the natural gas they use. Avista Utility customers will see a barely noticeable increase of just one-tenth of one percent,” said Lori Koho, the PUC’s natural gas program manager.“The adjustments vary from company to company due to their different strategies for buying gas,” Koho said. “We look at what they are paying once a year and when we can pass along the savings to customers.”The Purchased Gas Adjustment (PGA) filed by Cascade Natural Gas Corporation called for a decrease in the wholesale price of natural gas. The filing calls for a 6.55 percent decrease for residential customers and a 7.03 percent decrease for small commercial customers.With these changes, the monthly bill of a typical residential customer using 56 therms per month will decrease by $4.03, or 6.55 percent, from $61.61 to $57.58. In January, a typical residential Cascade customer’s consumption of 118 therms will result in a billing decrease of $8.50, or 6.7 percent, from $126.50 to $118.00. Cascade Natural Gas serves Central Oregon in the Bend region and parts of northeast Oregon.Oregon’s natural gas comes through pipelines from gas fields in Canada and the Rocky Mountain region.“We continue to see wholesale natural gas prices remain low, and that allows us to pass along a decrease to our Oregon customers,” said Frank Morehouse, executive vice president and general manager for Cascade Natural Gas.The cost of gas, which makes up the largest part of a customer’s bill, is a straight pass-through to the customer; the utility cannot make a profit on the cost of gas, the utility said.A typical residential customer using 56 therms a month can expect a reduction of $4.03 on their monthly bill, or $48.36 in savings for usage over a 12-month period. A commercial customer using an average of 236 therms a month can expect a decrease of $15.93 on their monthly bill, or $191.16 in savings for usage over a 12-month period.Customers can reduce their bill further by taking the following steps:• Turning down your thermostat can save up to 3 percent for each degree. A programmable thermostat that reduces heat at night or when no one is home can lower heating bills by 5 to 10 percent.• Update low-efficiency furnaces and water heaters with higher-efficiency models.• Fully insulating your residence generally results in up to 30 percent savings on a heating bill.• Clean or change the furnace filter once a month during the heating season.• Ask for an energy audit by the utility that provides your heating. Customers of NW Natural and Cascade should arrange for an audit through the Energy Trust of Oregon at: http://www.energytrust.org/. Avista Utilities offers traditional energy audits.• And lastly, contact your gas utility about bill payment assistance.
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