That new federal tax law could mean lower natural gas rates

New federal tax laws could mean lower prices for Cascade Natural Gas customers.

The staff of the Washington State Utilities and Transportation Commission on Thursday proposed a 3.1 percent rate decrease for customers. Cascade had requested approval of a 2.7 percent increase.

A little more than half of the decrease proposed is due to the tax savings from the 2018 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. The federal act reduces the corporate tax rate from 35 to 21 percent.

State law authorizes the commission to determine how much profit can be earned by regulated energy companies and what rates they can charge. The commission said in January that it expected investor-owned utilities to pass through savings from reduced federal taxes to their customers in Washington state.

The rest of the recommended rate reduction is due to a decrease in expected infrastructure spending, a decrease in working capital needs and the elimination of certain executive benefits.

Under the commission staff’s proposal, Cascade’s average residential customer using 54 therms a month would pay $1.60 less, for an average monthly bill of $47.78.

The public may comment on the proposed rate decrease at 5:30 p.m. April 4 in the Kennewick City Council Chambers, 210 W. Sixth Ave.

The state Utilities and Transportation Commission will make a final decision on Cascade rates this summer, with new rates taking effect on Aug. 1.

This story was originally published February 15, 2018 at 6:15 PM with the headline "That new federal tax law could mean lower natural gas rates."