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Window of vehicle smashed; items reportedly stolen

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Striking Pennsylvania teachers performing community service

<p>UGI Penn Natural Gas will file for a rate hike with the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission to take effect next month, the first increase in two years for the utility covering Northeastern Pennsylvania.</p><p>The average residential user&#8217;s bill will increase by 4.4 percent on June 1 pending PUC approval of the utility&#8217;s purchased gas cost rate. The bill for a typical residential customer using 8,900 cubic feet of natural gas per month will rise to $75.69 from $72.48, according to the utility.</p><p>The purchased gas cost rate will likely stay the same for the utility&#8217;s next quarterly filing on Dec. 1. &#8220;That&#8217;s our projection and that will be trued up as we go forward,&#8221; said Joe Swope, a spokesman for the utility that has 178,000 customers in the region.</p><p>The costs of the fuel and transporting it to UGI PNG&#8217;s distribution network are behind the increase, Swope said. UGI PNG does not make a profit on the purchased gas cost rate and passes it through to customers without a markup.</p><p>Commercial users will see a 5.4 percent increase and industrial retail users a 6.4 percent increase. The bill for a typical commercial retail customer using 26.2 thousand cubic feet or mcf per month will increase to $172.46 from $163.69. The bill for a typical industrial retail customer using 405 mcf per month will increase to $2,175.85 from $2,044.37, according to the utility.</p><p>Paul Szykman, vice president of rates at UGI, said approximately 90 percent of the utility&#8217;s gas supplies come from the Marcellus Shale in Pennsylvania&#8217;s northern tier counties. &#8220;Even with this increase, our customers are benefiting from this plentiful, reliable supply,&#8221; Szykman said in a prepared statement. &#8220;Over the past eight years, UGI customers have seen a decrease of more than 40 percent in their bills due to declining gas costs.&#8221;</p><p>The utility can file for quarterly adjustments to reflect changes in the wholesale price. UGI PNG pays $2.72 per thousand cubic feet of gas or mcf, a standard measurement of volume in the industry. The proposed rate of $3.02 mcf is still well below the $5.78 mcf from June 1, 2014, the last increase approved for the utility by the PUC.</p><style>
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<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Jerry Lynott</p><p>jlynott@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Jerry Lynott at 570-991-6120 or on Twitter @TLJerryLynott</p></shirttailMeta></div>

UGI Penn Natural Gas to file for first rate hike in two years