Natural gas rates in Tri-Cities to jump 18% as cold weather hits

Costs for natural gas customers across Washington state are jumping starting this month, including an increase of nearly 18% for the average customer of Cascade Natural Gas based in Kennewick.

The Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission is blaming the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, production of natural gas has slowed while demand has increased, resulting in increased wholesale costs for Washington utilities,” the commission said in an announcement.

It approved rate increases last week for the four natural gas utilities in Washington state starting Monday, Nov. 1.

The typical Cascade residential customer uses 56 therms a month and can expect average monthly bills to increase by nearly $10 to $65.90 a month, according to the commission.

Cascade Natural Gas serves more than 225,000 residential and business customers in 68 communities throughout the state, including Kennewick, Richland and Pasco.

Its average cost per customer is going up by the highest percentage among the four natural gas utilities in Washington state.

The average bill for a customer of Avista, based in Spokane, will go up by 10%, the average bill for NW Natural serving southwest Washington will go up 11% and the average bill for Puget Sound Energy will go up 6%.

The variation in gas rates among utilities is due to regional differences in monthly residential usage, supply sources, conservation and energy efficiency programs, low-income program costs, and company gas purchasing practices, the commission said.

Natural gas companies file reports with the state commission every 15 months to adjust rates based on the continually changing cost of natural gas in the wholesale market.

The utilities pass the cost of gas purchases on to customers but do not profit or lose money based on the cost of gas purchases, the commission said.

Natural gas customers with concerns about paying their bills this winter should contact their gas company to discuss bill management and assistance programs, as well as utility conservation and weatherization programs, the commission said.