Customers of PPL Corporation’s natural gas affiliate will pay slightly lower prices this summer based on a decrease in the Gas Supply Charge portion of customers’ bills effective June 1.
The charge, which reflects the prices that PPL Gas Utilities pays to buy natural gas from suppliers on the open market, will decrease from $6.37 to $6.35 per dekatherm, a unit of natural gas use.
For an average residential customer, who uses 8 dekatherms a month, the total monthly bill will decrease by 23 cents, from $92.26 to $92.03. The actual effect will vary depending on how much gas customers use.
Gas bills have two main parts: the cost of gas and the cost of delivering it to customers through the local pipelines that make up PPL’s gas delivery system, explained Robert M. Geneczko, president of PPL Gas Utilities, which serves customers through its PFG Gas and North Penn Gas subsidiaries.
"PPL is a local gas delivery company," Geneczko said. "Part of our responsibility is to buy gas from suppliers on behalf of our customers.
"The cost of the gas we buy is reflected in the Gas Supply Charge portion of the bill," he added. "It is a pass-through charge we can adjust quarterly, based on actual gas prices. We cannot — and do not — make a profit on the gas we buy."
He noted, however, that supplier prices for natural gas have been high since the winter because of increased use and tighter supply. PPL Gas Utilities offers programs and services to help customers cope with higher bills. For information, customers should call the toll-free customer service number, 1-800-652-0550, weekdays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Total monthly gas bills for typical commercial and industrial customers will decrease by 85 cents a month and $6.30 per month respectively on June 1 because of the reduction in the supply charge.
PPL Gas Utilities, a subsidiary of PPL Corporation, serves 75,000 natural gas customers in parts of 34 Pennsylvania counties. Headquartered in Allentown, Pa., PPL Corporation controls about 11,500 megawatts of generating capacity in the United States, sells energy in key U.S. markets and delivers electricity to customers in Pennsylvania, the United Kingdom and Latin America.