UGI Utilities said Friday it wants to boost residential natural gas rates by another 9.5%, the latest in a series of increases meant to help pay for upgrades to its distribution system.
The company wants to raise the total bill for a typical residential heating customer from $98.62 to $108.01 per month. That customer uses 7,310 cubic feet of natural gas per month, according to UGI.
Subject to state Public Utility Commission approval, this latest increase would likely take effect in late October.
UGI’s proposal also includes rate hikes for commercial and industrial customers. If all its requests are granted in full, the utility would add $82.7 million to its annual revenues, which UGI says it needs to help pay for $373 million in future upgrades to its distribution system infrastructure, facilities, and information technology.
“A significant part of our ongoing investments is an infrastructure betterment initiative designed to replace all non-contemporary pipelines with those made of contemporary materials,” said Christopher Brown, UGI vice president and general manager of rates and supply.
The proposed rate increase follows a 9.6% rate hike for residential customers that took effect in December and was the last of four rate hikes in 2021. If the new rate increase goes into effect this fall, the typical residential customer’s bill will have risen by 37.6% since December 2020.
Natural gas is the second most popular home-heating fuel in Lancaster County, used by 33.7% of county households, per the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey. It trails only electricity, used to provide heat in 34.5% of all housing units in the county.
UGI has about 63,000 residential customers in Lancaster County.
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