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Lower natural gas prices will have an effect on National Fuel Gas’ (NFG) bottom line in 2011, but the company will continue to ramp up its drilling operations in the Marcellus Shale during the year, CEO David F. Smith said during a conference call with financial analysts Friday.

For the second year in a row, NW Natural Gas Co. on Wednesday filed final requests to lower retail gas utility rates for its customers in Oregon and Washington state. The rate adjustments were filed with the Oregon Public Utility Commission and the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission, reflecting the expected cost of wholesale gas purchases in the next year.

Pennsylvania’s capital budget for fiscal year 2010-2011, which was approved Monday by the state’s House and last week by the state’s Senate, includes several Marcellus Shale-related infrastructure projects.

Southwestern Energy Co., which has built fortunes and natural gas reserves from success in the Fayetteville Shale, saw its production jump by almost a third in 2Q2010 from the same period a year ago.

Sioux Falls, SD-based NorthWestern Corp.’s Montana utility operations were granted electricity and natural gas interim retail rate increases by the state regulatory commission, the utility said Friday. The new rates were effective on Thursday.

Possible sales of hundreds of millions of dollars in assets by the nation’s largest municipal utility to help avoid large rate increases are still being considered, according to Austin Beutner, the acting head of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP). An upcoming integrated resource plan is expected to show more detailed plans.

Xcel Energy filed with Colorado regulators for approval of a $52.7 million rate increase to cover the utility’s updated forecast of fuel and purchased energy prices for the second quarter of this year and an undercollection for the first quarter. It asked the Colorado Public Utilities Commission (PUC) to make the increase effective April 1. Minneapolis-based Xcel said the electric commodity adjustment (ECA) filing is estimated to drive up residential and small business customer bills an average of 8%. The ECA portion of Xcel customers’ electric bills would increase to 3.73 cents/kWh in the second quarter, compared to 2.93 cents/kWh currently. For the typical residential customer, bills would increase by about $5.18 monthly to around $71.53. Small businesses face a monthly increase of $9.21, taking the average bill to more than $122. Costs associated with increase or decreases through the ECA are passed through on a dollar-per-dollar basis.

Xcel Energy filed with Colorado regulators for approval of a $52.7 million rate increase to cover the utility’s updated forecast of fuel and purchased energy prices for the second quarter of this year and an undercollection for the first quarter. It asked the Colorado Public Utilities Commission (PUC) to make the increase effective April 1. Minneapolis-based Xcel said the electric commodity adjustment (ECA) filing is estimated to drive up residential and small business customer bills an average of 8%. The ECA portion of Xcel customers’ electric bills would increase to 3.73 cents/kWh in the second quarter, compared to 2.93 cents/kWh currently. For the typical residential customer, bills would increase by about $5.18 monthly to around $71.53. Small businesses face a monthly increase of $9.21, taking the average bill to more than $122. Costs associated with increase or decreases through the ECA are passed through on a dollar-per-dollar basis.

Prices stayed on an uphill path in most cases Wednesday, but the rate of increase was appreciably lower than the large gains during the first two days of the week and included several losses. Along with the previous day’s loss of 8.4 cents by December futures, cash gas appeared to be starting to acknowledge the moderating weather forecasts for the latter half of this week.