PPL Corporation’s natural gas subsidiary is lowering rates for its 75,000 customers at the start of the winter heating season.

Effective Dec. 1, the Purchased Gas Cost Rate component of customers’ bills decreased by 72 cents a dekatherm. A dekatherm is a measure of the heat energy in natural gas. Customers can find on their gas bills how many dekatherms they use each month.

"A rate reduction to coincide with the start of winter is good news for our customers," said Robert M. Geneczko, president of PPL Gas Utilities Corporation, which serves customers in parts of 34 counties across Pennsylvania through its gas utility subsidiaries PFG Gas and North Penn Gas.

The total gas bill for a residential customer who uses 8 dekatherms a month will drop to $83.23, a decrease of $5.77 (6.5 percent). Actual bills will vary depending on how much gas customers use.

Total gas bills for typical commercial and industrial customers will decrease by 8 percent and 8.7 percent respectively.

Lower prices make natural gas service an even greater value, Geneczko noted. Natural gas provides comfort, convenience and energy efficiency from a clean-burning, domestic fuel source.

"We buy nearly all of the natural gas we need from suppliers on the open market, where prices vary based on the economy, weather and other factors," he said. "The rate reduction reflects our approach to purchasing gas, which aims to keep prices as stable as possible."

The reduction is the net result of changes in two components on customers’ bills: a decrease of $1.50 per dekatherm in the Gas Cost Adjustment and an increase of 78 cents per dekatherm in the Gas Supply Charge.

The Gas Cost Adjustment changes annually on Dec. 1 to reflect costs already collected for gas purchases as well as the cost to transport and store gas. The Gas Supply Charge may be adjusted quarterly to reflect short-term changes in the price PPL pays to buy natural gas for customers.