Preliminary data show that Oregon faces a 30% hike in retail natural gas charges when state regulators determine annual gas cost adjustments, effective in November, a spokesperson for the Oregon Public Utility Commission (PUC) told NGI Monday.

The PUC said it will hold a gas price outlook meeting to hear from the principal utilities and stakeholders July 15 in Salem, OR. The public session, which has been held each summer in recent years, will allow discussion of gas pricing issues and their potential impact on electric utility retail charges. The major gas distribution utilities will file estimates of future wholesale gas prices in August, and the PUC will then process the data and make its own determination of how much, if any, to raise retail gas charges starting in November.

“The commission will receive a briefing on the short- and long-term outlooks for natural gas prices Oregon consumers will face for home heating, industry and the generation of electricity,” said the PUC. It oversees the rates and service given to about 715,000 gas customers in Oregon from Northwest Natural Gas Corp., Avista Utilities and Cascade Natural Gas.

A year ago demand and prices for gas were viewed as relatively stable, according to a Northwest Gas Association (NWGA) presentation to the Oregon PUC session (see Daily GPI, July 13, 2007).

In addition to the utility representatives that will make presentations, the PUC has scheduled a PUC staff overview of the expected gas price increases in the Northwest region; the Energy Trust of Oregon will present an update on energy efficiency and conservation efforts; and the NWGA will describe the broader impacts on gas prices on Oregon. The utilities will outline proposed rate changes based on their individual gas price forecasts, and the programs they will be offering customers to cope with higher gas prices.

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