Price of natural gas dips

Natural gas prices for homeowners will be lower for the next three months than they were this summer -- but customers can still expect to pay heating bills 20 percent or more higher than this time last year.

The Pittsburgh region's three major gas utilities today adjust their rates for the three-month period ending Dec. 31, based on the price they expect to pay for the heating fuel.

The outlook is better than many forecasts in recent months. "We saw an increase in the early part of the summer," said Joe Gregorini, manager of regulatory pricing for Dominion Peoples Gas, which has 324,000 residential customers.

"But after July, we saw wholesale prices starting to decline to a large degree, because natural gas prices were tracking oil." Since then, "We haven't had any major natural gas supply disruptions, so the supply is good going into this winter," Gregorini said.

For the October to December period, Dominion Peoples customers will pay $11.80 per thousand cubic feet, or mcf, of natural gas for heating. That's up 22 percent from $9.67 a year ago. The price during the summer was $15.89.

The average residential customer will pay $128.41 a month, compared to $111.82 last fall, based on annual usage of 98 mcf.

"If you looked at prices a couple months ago, it was really frightening, but that was the same time oil hit its peak," said Irwin A. "Sonny" Popowsky, the state's consumer advocate. He expects higher prices this winter, "but not as catastrophically high as they appeared to be headed" based on summer's numbers.

Most homeowners statewide use natural gas heat, so their use of the fuel ramps up through the fall and early winter.

Equitable Gas customers will pay $14.45 per mcf this fall, also up 22 percent from a year ago but below the summer's rate of $16.46.

The average bill will run $158.24, compared with $136.69 a year ago. Equitable has about 240,000 residential customers.

Spokesman David Spigelmyer said gas prices remain volatile, and customers having trouble making payments should contact the company about a budget or payment plan.

Columbia Gas residential customers' bills will average $142.48, down 15 percent from the summer. The average bill a year ago was $115.89. Columbia's new rate per mcf wasn't available Tuesday. The company has 357,000 residential customers.

Higher fuel costs this year will pressure programs such as the South Side-based Dollar Energy Fund, which expects to help fewer families who are struggling to pay utility bills this winter.

The fuel fund -- which matches utilities' contributions with customers' donations -- provided 10,093 grants averaging $372 last year.

This winter, based on increased energy costs, grants will average $412 for about 8,300 households, Executive Director Cindy Datig said. A network of community groups will take applications for grants, starting today.

"We need to raise $600,000, to maximize all the utility companies' matching money," Datig said, adding if the fund does that, it could help an additional 2,300 families. Households in danger of losing utility service, or already terminated, get first priority for grants.

There are some bright spots. The federal Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program kicks off Nov. 3 with double last year's allocation and more than $275 million available for grants for Pennsylvania families.

Also, a new state law provides $10 million a year for home heating help -- if the governor declares an emergency based on criteria such as price spikes, or record customer shutoffs.