Natural-gas prices going up for some Mercer County residents

ERIE, Pa. — Some northwestern Pennsylvania-area residents will see an increase in their natural-gas costs over the next three months, although the rate still remains lower than last winter.

National Fuel, which serves customers in Mercer and Venango counties, has announced a increase as part of its quarterly adjustment to gas supply charges.

The adjustment will raise the monthly bill of a typical customer by $3.23 per month from $76.81 to $80.04, according to the company. Last winter the typical customer paid $84.92 per month.

Like all Pennsylvania utilities, National Fuel projects annual natural-gas prices and then performs quarterly reconciliations of actual costs against what had been estimated.

National Fuel is required by law to pass any increase or decrease in gas supply charges on to customers with no profit, company officials said in their press release.