Utility seeks decrease in natural gas rates

With wholesale prices for natural gas in a steady decline, Avista Corp. says it will pass along the savings.

Customers could see an average savings of $5 to $7 on their monthly bills this summer.

Spokane-based Avista has asked regulators to reduce natural gas prices by 8.1 percent in Washington and 6.7 percent in Idaho, effective June 1.

“We know many of our customers are concerned about expenses in this economy, and we want to pass these additional savings on to them as soon as possible,” said Kelly Norwood, Avista’s vice president for state and federal regulation.

Avista will ask for another decrease in natural gas prices in September if prices remain low, Norwood said.

The monthly savings would amount to $7.02 for a Washington customer using 70 therms of natural gas each month.

An average Idaho customer would see $5.26 in monthly savings.

But while Avista is passing on lower wholesale natural gas costs, the utility is also asking state regulators for higher rates to recover its fixed costs for delivering natural gas to customers.

The company wants to raise natural gas prices for Washington customers by 2.4 percent and for Idaho customers by 3 percent. Public utilities commissions in both states are considering those requests.