Peoples Natural Gas Company is filing a request with the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission to increase the cost of natural gas distribution rates as of February 27th. The increase, if approved would amount to a 21% increase in monthly bills for some residential customers and an 8% increase for others. For commercial customers, the increase would be even higher at slightly more than 22% while industrial customers would see an increase of nearly 14%. The company says it needs to increase its revenue by $156 million a year to continue replacing old pipelines. The company has to prove to the PUC that the rate increases are reasonable. The PUC may grant all, some, or none of the request.
