ERIE — National Fuel Gas Distribution Corp. has submitted to the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission its annual adjustment to gas supply charges to become effective immediately.

This adjustment increases the monthly bill of a typical residential customer with an annual usage of 99,300 cubic feet of gas by $7.40, from $64.72 to $72.12. The increase in gas supply charges is primarily due to higher market prices for natural gas. Gas supply costs are passed along to customers dollar for dollar, with no mark-up or profit to National Fuel.

This rate adjustment is significantly lower than the increase that had been projected in National Fuel’s annual Purchased Gas Cost filing last December when the company had been projecting average residential monthly bills of $87.98 to take effect on Aug. 1.

Pennsylvania utility companies are permitted to update gas supply charges on a quarterly basis to reflect changes in the market price of natural gas. The next opportunity to adjust gas supply charges will be Nov. 1. National Fuel’s price-to-compare gas commodity charge also will increase to $.37876 per 100 cubic feet (ccf). This reference point, detailed on the National Fuel bill under Gas Supply Charges, is important for customers who are shopping for an alternate gas supplier.

Customer Assistance Program National Fuel recently launched a new Customer Assistance Program (CAP) that offers customers affordable monthly payments and the opportunity to have outstanding balances forgiven at the time of enrollment. CAP is available to residential customers with a household income equal to or less than 150% of federal poverty income guidelines. Customers who are eligible for LIHEAP also will be eligible for CAP. To apply, visit www.dollarenergy.org/myapp.