PPL Gas Utilities announced today a decrease of more than 6 percent in the rate customers pay for the gas supply portion of their bill. The new rate, $12.42 per dekatherm, applies to gas use beginning Friday (9/1).

“As a result of lower wholesale natural gas prices, we’re able to pass along another decrease to our customers,” said Robert M. Geneczko, president of PPL Gas Utilities.

Geneczko said PPL Gas Utilities negotiates with wholesale natural gas suppliers for a reliable and cost-effective supply of gas. Customers pay the cost to procure that gas, without any markup or profit for PPL Gas Utilities. The costs are passed directly through to customers on the gas supply portion of the bill.

PPL Gas Utilities’ business is to deliver the gas via its distribution system.

“Both PPL Gas Utilities and its customers benefit from lower gas prices,” Geneczko said. “We’re pleased that prices are continuing to drop.”

For the average residential customer, gas supply charges make up about 71 percent of the monthly bill, while delivery charges account for about 29 percent.

PPL Gas Utilities bills customers based on gas use, measured in dekatherms — a unit of heat energy equal to 1 million British thermal units (BTUs). The energy in a dekatherm can run a gas furnace for 10 hours or dry 72 loads of laundry in a gas dryer.

Under the new rate, a residential customer who uses 8 dekatherms per month will see a decrease in the total gas bill from $147.16 to $140.30. The total gas bill for a commercial customer using 32 dekatherms will decrease from $524.18 to $496.77. The bill for an industrial customer using 173 dekatherms will decrease from $2,703.93 to $2,555.73.

PPL Gas Utilities, a subsidiary of PPL Corporation (NYSE: PPL), provides natural gas delivery service to 76,000 homes and businesses in 34 Pennsylvania counties and a small portion of Maryland.