Local natural gas customers to see savings starting in November
Almost 2 million natural gas customers in Washington can expect to see lower heating bills this winter due to a decrease in wholesale natural gas costs.
The Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission approved requests by the state’s four investor-owned natural gas companies to reduce rates for customers beginning Nov. 1.
Natural gas companies in Washington are required to adjust rates periodically to reflect changes in wholesale prices. More than half to about two-thirds of a customer’s monthly bill is attributable to the cost of natural gas on which the company is not allowed to earn a profit. The remaining 45 percent covers the cost of delivering the natural gas.
Among those providers are Cascade Natural Gas, whose average residential customer will see a reduction of almost 6.5 percent. For a customer the savings will be about $4 a month.
The utilities distribute natural gas to customers but do not produce their own fuel. About half of Washington’s natural gas supplies come from the Canadian provinces of Alberta and British Columbia and the other half from sites such as Wyoming.
