Peoples Natural Gas yesterday filed a rate increase request with the Public Utility Commission, asking for fourteen percent more from most customers, and nineteen percent more from customers of the former Equitable Gas Company, which Peoples acquired in 2013.
The increase would add about ten dollars per month to the typical residential customer’s bill, fourteen dollars more for former Equitable customers. All Peoples customers would be paying about $85 per month.
The company says the funds would enable it to spend $95 million to replace aging pipelines, plus pay for increasing benefits costs for its employees, taxes, and debt service.
The PUC must approve the rate increase and could do so as early as March, although Peoples says a more likely scenario is this fall.
Customers will have until April 29th to file a formal complaint regarding the rate increase request. For a formal complaint form, contact the PUC at 1-800-692-7380, or write the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission at P.O. Box 3265, Harrisburg, PA 17105.
The PUC is currently in the process of approving the sale of Peoples to Aqua America, a Philadelphia-based water company.
