Puget Sound Energy
Puget Sound Energy crews from Galbraith Power in Seatac make repairs to a line during the January ice storm. (PSE Flickr)

Higher natural gas, power rates starting Monday

BY Tim Haeck  on May 14, 2012 @ 3:24 pm (Updated: 3:42 pm - 5/14/12 )

If you've been thinking about conserving energy, now would be a good time. Starting Monday, electricity and natural gas will cost you more if you're a customer of Puget Sound Energy.

"The average P.S.E. residential electric customers that would use about 1,000 kilowatt hours per month would see their electricity increase by about $3.30 per month," said Marilyn Meehan, spokeswoman with the state Utilities and Transportation Commission.

The average monthly residential natural gas increase amounts to about $1.08 per month.

Meehan says P.S.E. originally sought overall rate increases totalling $193 million for electricity and natural gas. State regulators analyzed the request and then reduced the amount of the increase to $76.7 million.

"The commission is allowing Puget Sound Energy to raise electric rates by about $63 million and natural gas rates by about $13 and a half million," said Meehan.

Bellevue's Puget Sound Energy is the state's largest private utility with about 1.1 million electricity customers and more than 756,000 natural gas customers, mostly in the Puget Sound region.

Tim Haeck, KIRO Radio Reporter
Tim Haeck is a news reporter with KIRO Radio. While Tim is one of our go-to, no-nonsense reporters, he also has a sensationally dry sense of humor and it will surprise some to learn he is a weekend warrior.
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Comments (3)


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  • maplefish wrote...
    Hilarious!
    May 14, 2012 3:08 pm
    And yet, we have an abundance of both water and natural gas...The screw job never ends. BTW- I coulda sworn the OBAMA minions were telling us we're recovering? Anybody fill their gas tank in the last few days? Liars never figure and figures never lie.
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