READING, PA – UGI Utilities, Inc. – Gas Division (UGI) announced its purchased gas cost rates will increase on September 1, 2016. As a result, the average residential heating customer’s bill will rise by 8.3 percent.
This gas cost increase means an average bill will rise from $51.44 per month to $55.72 per month. This will be the first increase in the purchased gas cost for UGI customers since June 2014. Since that time, UGI Gas Division customers have seen four successive decreases in purchased gas costs.
“This increase, while the first in over two years, is a result of the company under-recovering gas costs,” Paul Szykman, UGI’s vice president of rates, said. “Even with this increase, UGI – Gas Division’s residential heating bills remain significantly lower than in 2008. UGI customers have enjoyed both savings and price stability in their natural gas bills in recent years thanks to locally produced shale gas. Shale gas currently makes up approximately 90 percent of UGI’s natural gas supply.”
By law, utilities are required to pass the cost of the natural gas they purchase directly through to customers without any markup.
UGI recognizes some customers may have trouble paying their utility bill. All customers are encouraged to sign up for UGI’s free budget billing program, which spreads bills out over a 12-month period.
In addition, customers with a limited or fixed income should call UGI at 1-800-UGI-WARM (1-800-844-9267) to determine if they are eligible for one of several energy assistance programs. Finally, any customer who is behind on their gas bills should contact the utility as soon as possible to discuss a payment arrangement.
UGI encourages customers to use energy wisely and make efficiency improvements in their homes. Additional information on energy efficiency and customer assistance programs is available on UGI’s website at http://www.ugi.com.
UGI Utilities, Inc. – Gas Division serves 372,000 customers in 16 eastern and southcentral counties in Pennsylvania. Additional information about UGI is available at http://www.ugi.com on Facebook at www.facebook.com/ugiutilities; and Twitter at www.twitter.com/ugi_utilities.
