Posted: Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Oregon natural gas customers will pay less to heat their homes this
winter. The Public Utility Commission today announced a
double-digit rate drop for each of the state’s three natural gas
utilities. Salem Correspondent Chris Lehman reports.
Natural gas prices often follow the same pricing trends as the kind
of gas you put in your car. Remember how gasoline prices spiked a
little over a year ago, and then plummeted? The same thing is
happening for natural gas. Customers of Oregon’s largest natural gas
utility, Northwest Natural, will pay on average about $15 less per
month this winter. Oregon Public Utility Commission chair Lee
Beyer says the news is bittersweet.
Beyer: “It’s a good sign. The reason they’re down is not
necessarily so good. The reason things are down is that we’ve been
in a worldwide recession so demand for gas is off.”
Beyer also says new drilling technology has opened up access to
more domestic natural gas fields. This winter’s rates will be the
lowest in Oregon in more than five years.
Copyright 2009 OPB
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