Decrease proposed for Avista natural gas rate

Natural gas rates for Avista Utilities customers in Idaho will go down in November if the Idaho Public Utilities Commission approves the annual Purchased Gas Cost Adjustment submitted by Avista on Monday.

If approved, residential customers using an average of 61 therms per month could expect to see a decrease of $4.65 or 8.4 percent per month, for a revised monthly bill of $50.94, beginning Nov. 1.

The PGA is an annual adjustment that balances the actual cost of wholesale natural gas purchased by Avista with the amount already included in current rates.

Avista does not mark up the cost of natural gas to meet customer needs. The utility files the PGA each year, and costs can go up or down, based on the cost of wholesale natural gas.

The primary drivers for Avista’s requested decrease include reduction in natural gas commodity costs due to a warmer-than-normal winter, an abundance of natural gas held in storage and continued high production levels of natural gas.