NW Natural seeks rate reduction in Oregon and Washington

Northwest Natural Gas Co. on Friday said it has filed paperwork with Oregon and Washington regulators asking to reduce rates by between 8 and 9 percent thanks to an increase in U.S. gas supplies.

The Portland-based gas utility (NYSE:NWN) said its request to the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission would drop rates for residential customers by 9 percent, and commercial customers by 9.5 percent. The bill for a residential customer using an average of 55 therms per month would fall by $5.62, while the bill for a commercial customer using 233 therms per month would drop by $23.92.

In Oregon, the company's rates would drop by 8 percent for residential customers and 9 percent for commercial customers, but determining the exact impact on monthly bills is a little more complicated.

Back in December, NW Natural filed a general rate case with the Oregon Public Utilities Commission ? its first in almost a decade ? in which it asked to increase revenue by 6 percent to cover operating costs such as pipeline maintenance and service calls.

Yet the utility expects those increases will be offset by the continued decline in natural gas prices, leading to flat or lower rates. Though exact figures are difficult to know until the rate case is complete, spokeswoman Kim Heiting said it's likely that the average residential bill will fall by around $5 per month while commercial customer bills will drop by around $20.

CEO Gregg Kantor said the rate drop request is in addition to the $35 million in Oregon and $4 million in Washington that it passed back to customers in their June bills.

"Part of the reason for the lower prices is the surge of new domestic gas supplies," Kantor said in a news release. "Last winter was also much warmer than usual, which helped reduce demand and keep prices lower."

Erik Siemers covers footwear and apparel, technology, energy, manufacturing and ports.

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