More than 1.2 million natural gas customers in Washington will pay more for service beginning Nov. 1 due to increases in wholesale natural gas costs and colder than average temperatures last winter, the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission said Thursday.
The commission approved increases for the state’s four natural gas utility companies, including Portland-based Northwest Natural Gas Company, which serves about 74,000 residential and commercial customers in Clark, Skamania and Klickitat counties in Washington.
The average residential customer of Northwest Natural using 57 therms will see an increase of about 6 percent, or $3.65 a month, for a monthly bill of $64.60.
Utilities such as Northwest Natural distribute natural gas to customers but do not produce their own fuel. About half of Washington’s natural gas supplies come from the Canadian provinces of Alberta and British Columbia and the other half from Rocky Mountain production sites such as Wyoming.
