Peoples Natural Gas asks PUC for rate hike; move would increase most customers’ bills by 20%

Customers of Peoples Natural Gas will have six opportunities to voice concerns and opinions after the company asked the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PUC) to approve an additional $156 million in the form of a rate hike. That means 700,000 customers in Western Pennsylvania could soon see their Peoples gas bills go up.

“Ultimately, the main reasons are for safety and reliability of our natural gas distribution system. It is a big system with one of the 15,000 miles of pipeline throughout the 18 counties in Western Pennsylvania that we serve,” said Nick Paradise, external communications manager for Peoples Natural Gas.

If it goes through, Peoples Gas said the average residential customer could see their bill jump around 20% from around $73 to $88 in the natural gas division. Other customers could see a monthly increase of around 7%, with their bills potentially jumping from $84 to $90.

Peoples Gas said the money will be used to improve some of its aging infrastructure.

“We’ve been working really over the last decade to modernize that system to make it safer and more reliable, as well as reducing emissions that might happen by way of leaks or other things,” Paradise said.

Peoples Gas says it has also seen an increase in costs in labor and materials due to inflation and said it hasn’t asked for an increase in five years.

Four in-person public input hearings have been scheduled for 1 p.m. and 6 p.m. on the following dates:

• Tuesday, March 5, 2024 – Monroeville -- Community College of Allegheny County, Boyce Campus Auditorium
• Wednesday, March 6, 2024 – Butler – Butler County Community College

Additionally, two telephonic public input hearings have been scheduled for Thursday, March 7 at 1 p.m. and 6 p.m. Those interested are encouraged to pre-register with the Pennsylvania Office of Consumer Advocate (OCA) by 4 p.m. on Wednesday, March 6. Contact the OCA at 1-800-684-6560 or consumer@paoca.org and provide the following:

• First and last name.
• Date and time of the public input hearing at which you wish to testify.
• A phone number where you can be reached prior to the hearing.
• Your email address
• If you require an interpreter to participate in the hearing, the language of the interpreter.

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