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07-07-2009, 06:45 AM
JOHN STARK; THE BELLINGHAM HERALD
Published: 07/07/09 2:01 am | Updated: 07/06/09 4:41 pm
The coming winter will be less expensive than the last one for people who heat with natural gas.
Cascade Natural Gas, the provider of gas service for Whatcom County, has announced plans to cut prices by about 14 percent effective Aug. 1, passing along the drop in wholesale prices that the company pays to its own suppliers.
That cut comes on top of a 6 percent cut announced in April.
Taken together, the two price cuts will lower the average customer's bill by more than $16 per month, according to information provided by the company and the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission, which regulates natural gas rates. The average price is based on usage of 60 therms per month.
But prices will still be about $3 higher per month for the average customer than they were before the 26 percent price hike that took effect Nov. 1, 2008.
That rate increase, combined with some long and deep cold snaps, left some Whatcom County gas customers gasping during the winter of 2008-09.
What's pushing natural gas prices down?
One big factor is recession. Some industries that use large quantities of natural gas have cut back production, reducing demand for the fuel.
At the same time, new natural gas extraction technologies have increased the potential supply of gas in the U.S., which also helps to push the market price down.
The Associated Press reports that the Potential Gas Committee in Golden, Colo., recently estimated that America's supply of natural gas is much bigger than earlier estimates. A new technology that allows producers to drill for gas in shale rock has boosted the country's potential supply, the committee said.
Its report estimated that the country's reserves are 35 percent greater than levels estimated just two years ago. The group, which is backed by natural gas producers and utilities, estimated America's total natural gas resources at 2,074 trillion cubic feet.
Cascade Natural Gas is a distribution company serving about 252,000 residential, commercial, industrial and transportation customers in Washington and Oregon. Cascade is a subsidiary of MDU Resources Group, Inc., a natural resources company based in Bismarck, N.D.
from: http://www.thenewstribune.com/news/northwest/story/802502.html
Published: 07/07/09 2:01 am | Updated: 07/06/09 4:41 pm
The coming winter will be less expensive than the last one for people who heat with natural gas.
Cascade Natural Gas, the provider of gas service for Whatcom County, has announced plans to cut prices by about 14 percent effective Aug. 1, passing along the drop in wholesale prices that the company pays to its own suppliers.
That cut comes on top of a 6 percent cut announced in April.
Taken together, the two price cuts will lower the average customer's bill by more than $16 per month, according to information provided by the company and the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission, which regulates natural gas rates. The average price is based on usage of 60 therms per month.
But prices will still be about $3 higher per month for the average customer than they were before the 26 percent price hike that took effect Nov. 1, 2008.
That rate increase, combined with some long and deep cold snaps, left some Whatcom County gas customers gasping during the winter of 2008-09.
What's pushing natural gas prices down?
One big factor is recession. Some industries that use large quantities of natural gas have cut back production, reducing demand for the fuel.
At the same time, new natural gas extraction technologies have increased the potential supply of gas in the U.S., which also helps to push the market price down.
The Associated Press reports that the Potential Gas Committee in Golden, Colo., recently estimated that America's supply of natural gas is much bigger than earlier estimates. A new technology that allows producers to drill for gas in shale rock has boosted the country's potential supply, the committee said.
Its report estimated that the country's reserves are 35 percent greater than levels estimated just two years ago. The group, which is backed by natural gas producers and utilities, estimated America's total natural gas resources at 2,074 trillion cubic feet.
Cascade Natural Gas is a distribution company serving about 252,000 residential, commercial, industrial and transportation customers in Washington and Oregon. Cascade is a subsidiary of MDU Resources Group, Inc., a natural resources company based in Bismarck, N.D.
from: http://www.thenewstribune.com/news/northwest/story/802502.html