"The price that suppliers charge for natural gas keeps going up, which affects our customers because we have to buy nearly all of the gas for our customers from suppliers," said Robert M. Geneczko, president of PPL Gas Utilities.

"We do not make a profit on the gas we buy," he added. "We merely pass through the prices charged by suppliers. State regulation prohibits natural gas delivery companies from making a profit on gas purchases."

PPL Gas Utilities is increasing the Gas Charges portion of customers' bills to $7.73 from $7.13 per dekatherm. The increase is the net result of changes in the two components of the Gas Charges: an increase of 65 cents per dekatherm in the Gas Supply Charge and a decrease of 5 cents per dekatherm in the Gas Cost Adjustment Charge.

A dekatherm is a measure of the heat energy in natural gas. The energy in one dekatherm of natural gas can provide two weeks' worth of hot water for a family of four, or dry 72 loads of laundry.

Even with the increase, gas supply charges for customers of PPL Gas Utilities are among the lowest in Pennsylvania, and considerably less than the state average.

"By purchasing gas from several suppliers at the lowest prices on the market and making effective use of our gas storage capability, we make every effort to shield our customers from price spikes," Geneczko said.

While the effect on individual customers will vary depending on how much gas they use, the total monthly bill of a residential customer using 9 dekatherms of gas will increase to $113.50 from $108.06, or by 5 percent.

The total monthly bill for a commercial customer using 33 dekatherms of gas will increase to $357.64 from $337.71, or by 5.9 percent.

The total monthly bill for an industrial customer using 170 dekatherms of gas will increase to $1,720 from $1,617, or by 6.3 percent.

Because the increase comes at a time when the heating season is beginning, PPL Gas Utilities encourages customers to enroll in the budget billing program to even out the effects of seasonal changes in gas use.

Special services are available to customers with financial hardships.

For information about budget billing or special services, customers may call the company toll-free, 1-800-652-0550, or visit the Web site, www.pplgas.com.

"We are concerned about the effects of higher gas prices on our customers," Geneczko said. "We always encourage customers to use gas wisely to manage costs and still get the benefits of a clean, efficient and domestically produced fuel."

Among the measures customers can take to manage gas use going into the heating season is to have their heating system cleaned and inspected to improve its efficiency. Customers also can check attics, doors and windows for insulation, weather-stripping and caulking.

Information on saving energy in the home and improving efficiency is available from the U.S. Department of Energy Web site, www.energy.gov.

PPL Gas Utilities serves 75,000 natural gas delivery customers in 34 counties across Pennsylvania through its PFG Gas and North Penn Gas subsidiaries.

PPL Gas Utilities is a subsidiary of PPL Corporation. Headquartered in Allentown, Pa., PPL Corporation controls about 12,000 megawatts of generating capacity in the United States, sells energy in key U.S. markets and delivers electricity to nearly 5 million customers in Pennsylvania, the United Kingdom and Latin America. More information is available at www.pplweb.com.