PPL Gas Utilities announced a decrease of more than 2 percent today in the rate customers pay for the gas supply portion of their bill. The new rate, $13.28 per dekatherm, applies to gas use beginning Thursday (6/1).

"We're pleased to be able to pass along the decrease in the cost of gas purchased for our customers," said Robert M. Geneczko, president of PPL Gas Utilities. "Lower gas supply costs benefit our customers and company."

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 1 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 $149.65 to $147.27. The total gas bill for a commercial customer using 32 dekatherms will decrease from $534.09 to $524.60. The bill for an industrial customer using 173 dekatherms will decrease from $2,757.41 to $2,706.10.

On behalf of customers, 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.

For the average residential customer, gas supply charges make up about 72 percent of the monthly bill, while delivery charges account for about 28 percent.

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.