Cascade Natural Gas plans big rate cut
Cascade Natural Gas Corp. filed a request Friday with the Oregon Public Utility Commission that calls for a significant decrease in the price of natural gas to customers, as well as an annual adjustment for the Conservation Alliance Plan.
The proposed Purchased Gas Adjustment (PGA) would result in a 17.42 percent decrease for residential customers, a 20.24 percent decrease for small commercial customers, a 20.92 percent decrease for large-volume core customers and a 22.72 percent decrease for large volume interruptible customers.
The rate changes will be effective Nov. 1, upon PUC approval.
“Changes in what Cascade pays for the cost of natural gas and transportation services has decreased, which allows us to pass along those savings to our Oregon customers,” said Frank Morehouse, executive vice president and general manager for Cascade.
“Along with our adjustment for our Conservation Alliance Plan, this will translate into a nice cost reduction for our customers,” he said.
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.
If approved by the PUC, a typical Oregon residential customer using 55 therms a month can expect a reduction of $9.86 on their monthly bill, or $118.32 in savings for usage over a 12-month period, assuming average weather conditions.
A commercial customer using an average of 231 therms a month can expect a decrease of $41.76 on their monthly bill, or $501.12 in savings for usage over a 12-month period.
A PGA is a mechanism designed to pass the actual costs of gas supplies to customers.
Cascade Natural Gas is a natural gas distribution company serving approximately 260,000 residential, commercial, industrial and transportation customers in 96 communities in Washington and Oregon.
Cascade is a subsidiary of MDU Resources Group, Inc., a multidimensional natural resources enterprise traded on the New York Stock Exchange as “MDU.” For more information about MDU Resources, visit the company’s Web site at www.mdu.com. For more information about Cascade, visit www.cngc.com.
