Last week we filed a natural gas rate increase request with the Public Utility Commission of Oregon (PUC). We cited recovery of costs for capital projects and reliability to meet customer needs, as well as increased operating expenses in the request.
It’s worth noting that this is only the third time since Avista began serving its Oregon customers in 1991 that the company has requested a rate increase to recover its costs for delivering natural gas.
The PUC has up to 10 months to review Avista's filing. If the request is approved, a residential customer using an average of 49 therms per month would see a $9.15 increase, or 12.5 percent, for a revised monthly bill of $82.46.
Of course rates went down 4.1 percent last November as well.
You’re likely to see a notice in local newspapers with the headline, “Why natural gas rates may be going up – and also going down.” Click on
this link to read the notice now.
This news release contains forward-looking statements regarding the company's current expectations. Forward-looking statements are all statements other than historical facts. Such statements speak only as of the date of the news release and are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the company's control, which could cause actual results to differ materially from the expectations. These risks and uncertainties include, in addition to those discussed herein, all of the factors discussed in the company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended Dec. 31, 2008, and the Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2009.