A milder winter could lower more than just the number of snow days for local residents. Washington Gas predicts their customers will have significantly lower bills this year, the Washington Business Journal reported.
The drop is due to lower natural gas prices and a winter that is expected to be less frigid than last year. Washington Gas said this should mean lower heating bills for their clients.
The company foresees that bills could drop as much as 10 percent compared with last winter. The projection is based on gas commodity prices and lower demand. However, if this winter proves to be as frosty as last year, prices will be affected by demand.
“Increased domestic supplies of natural gas have resulted in considerably lower commodity prices,” said chief operating officer Adrian Chapman. “Our purchasing strategy continues to remain well positioned to take advantage of market developments.”
Gas supply costs, listed as the per “therm” charge on customer bills, are 60 percent of the total monthly heating bill. Regulated utilities cannot charge more for gas supply costs than they pay for the gas supply.
