UGI rate hike will cost some, save others money
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State regulators on Thursday unanimously approved a $30 million settlement in an annual rate hike for UGI Utilities Inc., which is less than half what the company sought when it filed for the increase in January.
The Public Utility Commission also approved UGI’s plan to bring more uniformity of rates into customers’ bills throughout its 45-county territory for the first time. Those rates cover a customer’s bill for the distribution and consumption of natural gas.
The rate hike and adjustments will mean higher bills for some area residents and lower bills for others. Here is a breakdown of residential bills, according to the settlement document. For former UGI South residential customers, which includes most of the Lehigh Valley and parts of Berks, Bucks and Montgomery counties: The bill for a typical heating customer will rise 13%, from $63.81 to $72.11 A typical customer is one using 640 cubic feet of gas per month, according to the PUC and UGI.
For former UGI Central residential customers: A typical heating customer, one consuming 790 cubic feet of gas monthly, will see a decrease of 16.5%, from $95.39 to $79.70 per month. That’s a larger decrease, by about $6 a month, than what UGI first proposed. The Central district has customers in upper Lehigh and Northampton counties, and parts of Carbon and Monroe counties.
Customers should see changes in their bills around Oct. 29, according the PUC. UGI also has a North district that covers northern and central Pennsylvania. The company previously received state approval to consolidate the districts.
Tanya J. McCloskey, the state’s acting consumer advocate whose office represents residential ratepayers, said the difference in rates was due to various charges in a customers’ distribution and purchased gas components.
UGI will consolidate the purchased gas portion into one rate by Dec. 1, company spokesman Joseph Swope said.
The settlement increases the bill’s “customer charge” to $14.60 per month for South district customers, up $2.85. The customer charge already was $14.60 for Central district customers, Swope said.
Bills for commercial and large industrial customers will also vary, depending on consumption.
UGI sought a $71.1 million annual rate hike when it filed in