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HARRISBURG – The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission approved a joint settlement and recommendations from a PUC administrative law judge for a smaller than requested base rate increase for National Fuel Gas Distribution Corporation – trimming National Fuel’s increase by nearly 20%.
The commissioners voted 5-0 Thursday (June 15) to adopt the Recommended Decision issued by Administrative Law Judge Mary D. Long and approve the joint petition for settlement.
Under the settlement, the increase in National Fuel’s rates will result in additional annual operating revenues of approximately $23 million (5.5%), compared to the original request for $28.1 million in additional annual revenues.
Per the settlement, the total average monthly bill of a residential customer using 84 ccf of natural gas per month will increase from $99.93 to $106.77 per month (6.8%), compared to the original request from National Fuel, which would have increased that same total monthly residential bill to $109.67 (9.7%).
The joint settlement was supported by the PUC’s independent Bureau of Investigation and Enforcement, National Fuel, the Pennsylvania Office of Consumer Advocate, the Office of Small Business Advocate, the Coalition for Affordable Utility Service and Energy Efficiency in Pennsylvania (CAUSE-PA), and the Pennsylvania Weatherization Providers Task Force.
National Fuel provides natural gas distribution services to approximately 214,000 customers in northwest Pennsylvania, including residents and businesses in parts of Armstrong, Butler, Cameron, Clarion, Clearfield, Crawford, Elk, Erie, Forest, Jefferson, McKean, Mercer, Venango, and Warren counties.
