Electricity rates going down, natural-gas rates rising for PSE residential customers

Electricity bills for Puget Sound Energy residential customers will drop by 3 percent by Nov. 1, while natural gas bills will rise by 5 percent, as a result of two actions taken by state regulators.

The Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission accepted a Bonneville Power Administration electric power credit, and approved an uncontested settlement of PSE's general rate case filed last December.

About 970,000 PSE residential and small farm customers will receive a credit on their monthly electric bills as the result of a partial reinstatement of the federal benefits from the region's low-cost hydroelectric power system. BPA suspended the credits 16 months ago after the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals found they did not conform to federal law. BPA reinstated the benefits based on a revised method, in a decision issued Sept. 22.

The new average credit will be about $10 monthly for PSE customers using 1,000 kilowatt hours, and will offset the increase of approximately $7.50 a month granted in PSE's rate request. Beginning next month, the average residential electric customer using 1,000 kilowatt hours will see a decrease of about $2.50 a month, resulting in an average bill of $97.50. The typical natural gas customers using 68 therms a month will see their bills increase y about $4 to $94.50.

The settlement allows the utility to raise rates to collect $179.2 million in new electric and natural gas revenues annually, less than the $231 million PSE originally requested last December.

The agreement calls for a 98-cent hike in the monthly basic service charge for electricity customers, down from the $3 the company originally requested. For natural gas customers, the monthly service charge will increase by $1.75 to $10. The utility had originally asked for $18 a month.

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