BELLEVUE, Wash. — Puget Sound Energy (PSE) alerted customers to higher utility bills for the remainder of 2022 and into 2023 in a release Monday.
The company cites a combination of factors, including "rising natural gas prices, state policy objectives for clean energy, and continued investments in system reliability and safety."
Natural gas customers will see increases beginning in November, due to steadily climbing wholesale gas prices. PSE said it has filed a rate increase with the state Utilities and Transportation Commission (UTC) that would raise the typical residential customer's (using 64 therms per month) monthly bill by $13 from $75 to $88, if approved.
Electric customers also could see higher costs, as PSE filed an additional rate increase proposal earlier this year that would go into effect in January 2023. PSE said the request reflects "more than $3.1 billion in investments over the last four years to boost reliability, enhance safety, and deliver on the state’s clean energy policy objectives."
If that increase is approved, the typical residential electric customer (using 800 kWh) would see a rate increase of $8 in 2023 up to $97. The rate for a typical customer would then rise by less than $2 in 2024. The typical natural gas customer would see an increase of $5 in 2023 under this proposal and an additional $1 in 2024.
“We are making our customers aware of these increases now, to give them time to learn about their options for controlling their energy usage and how to get help paying their energy bills,” said Andy Wappler, PSE senior vice president and chief customer officer. “We are urging customers to take advantage of our bill assistance and energy efficiency programs to help them manage those higher costs.”
