Bellevue, WA-based Puget Sound Energy said Monday it was seeking state regulatory approvals for a third natural gas utility rate cut for the year, lowering overall rates by another 12.5%. If the Washington state Utilities and Transportation Commission okays the latest request, gas rates for the year will go down by about 28%, the combination electric-gas utility subsidiary of holding company Puget Energy said.

A third retail rate decrease is reflective of lower wholesale gas costs below the utility’s forecasts continuing this fall, although the utility as part of its rate decrease request cautioned that wholesale gas prices are beginning to “inch back upward,” which could reverse this year’s decreases in the future.

The utility has asked the state regulators to make the reduction effective Nov. 1, added to earlier reductions in June and September. “The proposal would credit customers’ bills for amounts already collected by Puget Sound Energy,” the utility said in a written statement. The “credit” represents the difference between previously forecasted wholesale gas prices and Puget Sound’s actual costs.

Rates under the new proposal would drop by 8.5 cents/therm, or about $6.80 monthly for a typical residential customer, Puget Sound said. The state of Washington uses a purchased-gas adjustment (PGA) mechanism, allowing its four private-sector gas utilities to pass through wholesale price changes (up or down) as they occur. Puget Sound Energy serves 613,000 natural gas customers in and around the Seattle-Tacoma area of northwest Washington state.

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