Cascade Natural Gas filed a request for a price increase with the

Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission on April 1. The proposed

increase is for $12.7 million annually over current prices, or a 5.5 percent

overall increase.

If approved, the monthly bill for a residential customer would increase

by an average of $2.83 a month, or about $34 annually. The request is for costs

related to providing service to customers and does not include the cost of

natural gas.

The main reason for the new request is to recover the investments made in infrastructure upgrades, which accounts for about 70 percent of the total request, as well as increased operation and maintenance costs.

The request comes on the heels of state

regulators approving another rate increase to recover costs associated with securing natural gas

supply in the wake of the October 2018 rupture of a Canadian pipeline.

The

state commission approved the company’s request March 28 to recover an

additional $48 million in costs accumulated between Nov. 1, 2018, and Jan. 31,

2019, following the rupture of the Enbridge pipeline that disrupted natural gas

markets throughout the Pacific Northwest.

Under the rates approved March 28, a typical residential customer will see a bill increase of about $4.11. This increase took effect April 1.

The

commission approved the company’s request on the condition Cascade Natural Gas

collect the costs over a three-year period, rather than the two-year period

originally requested.