NSTAR Gas filed Tuesday with the Massachusetts Department of Telecommunications and Energy (MDTE) a request to reduce the Cost of Gas Adjustment (CGA) to 81.80 cents per therm from the current price of 89.36 cents per therm.

The new filing to cover the off-peak season running from May 1 to Oct. 31, came about three weeks after the company filed an interim rate increase from 70.70 cents/therm to the current 89 cent level in late February. That filing was to comply with rules that call for an interim re-adjustment in rates anytime NSTAR’s gas costs vary by more than 5%. It reflected the continued increase in the price of gas this winter.

Like most utilities NSTAR merely passes through its cost of gas. It cannot make a profit on the gas cost portion of its rates. Last September NSTAR proposed to start the heating season Nov. 1, 2002 at 61.39 cents/therm. Prior to that request, NSTAR lowered the CGA six consecutive times, from a high of $1.11 per therm in February 2001. The November 2002 price compared with the November 2001 CGA of 52.61 cents per therm.

While the off-peak price of 81 cents starting in May has come off the winter high a little, it is still 33% higher than the 61 cent rate at the start of the winter.

The rate changes reflect the continuing volatility of natural gas prices on the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX), NSTAR said.

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