UGI Penn Natural Gas to Decrease Natural Gas Costs on March 1, 2016

READING, PA – UGI Penn Natural Gas (UGI) announced its purchased gas cost rates will decrease on March 1, 2016. As a result, the average residential heating customer’s bill will drop by 5.3 percent.

This gas cost decrease means an average bill will decline from $76.75 per month to $72.67 per month. This will be the fourth decrease in the purchased gas cost for UGI customers in the past 12 months and continues an eight-year trend of lowering prices.

“The continued reduction in UGI’s purchased gas costs is directly related to the supply of locally produced shale gas,” Paul Szykman, UGI’s vice president of rates, said.  “Shale gas supplies currently make up more than 90 percent of UGI’s natural gas supply. This increased availability has lowered prices, allowing residents and businesses to expand their use of this clean and efficient fuel from the traditional uses of heating, water heating and cooking to new natural gas technologies as well. UGI is pleased to bring these benefits to our customers.”

By law, utilities are required to pass the cost of the natural gas they purchase directly through to customers without any markup.

Despite lower costs, UGI recognizes some customers may have trouble paying their utility bill. All customers are encouraged to sign up for UGI’s free budget billing program, which spreads bills out over a 12-month period.

In addition, customers with a limited or fixed income should call UGI at 1-800-UGI-WARM (1-800-844-9267) to determine if they are eligible for one of several energy assistance programs. Finally, any customer who is behind on their gas bills should contact the utility as soon as possible to discuss a payment arrangement.

UGI encourages customers to use energy wisely and make efficiency improvements in their homes. Additional information on energy efficiency and customer assistance programs is available on UGI’s website at www.ugi.com.

UGI Penn Natural Gas serves 165,000 customers in 13 northeastern and central Pennsylvania counties. Additional information about UGI is available at www.ugi.com on Facebook at www.facebook.com/ugiutilities; and Twitter at www.twitter.com/ugi_utilities.