Pennsylvania

PECO Could Increase Your Gas Bill About $4 Starting Next Month

The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission approved a 4.94% rate increase for PECO natural gas distribution services

NBC Universal, Inc.

If you get your natural gas service from PECO, your bill could go up by about $4 beginning on July 1.

The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission approved a 4.94% rate increase for PECO natural gas distribution services, according to a news release.

The electric utility serving the Philadelphia area will use the $29.118 million increase in annual operating revenues to make continued infrastructure improvements to enhance safety and reliability while reducing methane emissions, Smore wrote.

The hike is less than half of the annual revenue increase PECO originally requested, according to a news release. The commission’s order allows for a 4.94% increase in annual operating revenues, compared to the original request for an 8.9% increase of $68.7 million.

"While lower than our initial request, the PUC’s decision provides funding that is integral to our continued mission to deliver safe and reliable natural gas service for our customers in the region," PECO spokesman Greg Smore Smore wrote to NBC10 in an email.

This is the first time that PECO has filed for a natural gas rate increase in more than 10 years, Smore wrote.

PECO services approximately 534,000 residential, commercial and industrial customers in multiple counties across southeastern Pennsylvania.

The typical residential gas bill was $71.55 as of June 1, Smore wrote. This would lead to an average increase of $3.57 for residential customers. PECO is still working to finalize what the billing impact will be for customers, Smore said.

The energy company also requested an electric distribution rate increase that would raise residential customers' bills almost $10 each month in March. PECO said the $246 million increase would allow for "significant" grid upgrades and pandemic-related customer relief.

The rate hike, which would take effect in January, would be about 10 times as big as the last $24.9 million increase that went into effect in January 2019. The PUC's decision on the electricity rate increase is still pending.

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