MERCER COUNTY Gas bills go up as costs increase

The utility attributed rising costs to the colder-than-normal weather.
SHARON, Pa. -- Customers of National Fuel Gas saw their natural gas bill rise by 3.1 percent beginning Sunday.
National Fuel said it made a quarterly adjustment to gas cost rates to more accurately reflect the actual cost of gas it must buy to supply its customers.
The typical residential customer using 115,000 cubic feet of gas annually will see their monthly bill rise from about $106 to $109.
"Nationally, colder-than-normal weather has pushed up daily and future gas prices," said Nancy Taylor, senior manager of corporate communications for the company.
No markup
Purchased gas costs are passed along to customers dollar for dollar with no markup or profit to National Fuel. Utility companies are allowed to adjust them on a quarterly basis to reflect actual changes in gas costs.
The company announced a month ago that it expects to see a slight decrease, about 0.5 percent, in the gas cost rate as of Aug. 1, 2004.
That forecast remains on file with the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission but may change before that date, based on market trends, Taylor said.
The company had predicted the gas cost rate would drop by 3.8 percent as of Aug. 1, 2003, but it didn't. Instead, the company raised it 8.6 percent to reflect rising gas costs.
National Fuel serves 214,000 customers in 14 northwestern Pennsylvania counties, including 30,000 in Mercer County but none in neighboring Lawrence County.