RICHMOND, Va. – Natural gas customers will soon see a savings on their monthly utility bill, announced the mayor’s office on Wednesday.
The first bills to ship out in January 2016 will reflect the lower rate. The Department of Public Utilities, at the urging of Mayor Dwight Jones, will institute an overall ten percent reduction in the entire natural gas bill.
There will be an overall 24 percent reduction in the purchased gas cost. The new rate will change from $0.425 to $0.325 per Ccf (100 cubic feet), said DPU.
To illustrate the rate change, DPU said that average residential customer who uses 70 Ccf’s of natural gas per month will pay approximately $71.11 compared to a current bill of $78.11.
The office maintains that the current rate is less than or equal to surrounding natural gas franchises.
“The City continues to review and adjust the gas costs on a quarterly basis to reflect the price that DPU pays for natural gas and we’ve been able to steadily reduce the costs over the past year,” said Mayor Dwight Jones. “By law, we pass along the cost of the natural gas purchased and delivered to our customers, dollar for dollar without any markup.”
Natural gas is considered the most efficient and economical choice of fuel for home heating, water heating, cooking and clothes drying, according to DPU.