Up to 8% drop in natural gas bills predicted
By Gargi Chakrabarty, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)
Published December 19, 2008 at 12:05 a.m.
Xcel Energy on Thursday projected a 7 percent to 8 percent decrease in natural gas bills for January compared with the same month a year ago.
Declining natural gas prices on the heels of softening oil prices in a weakening economy, coupled with robust gas storage, are responsible for the downward revision of Xcel's forecast.
If the revision is approved by the Colorado Public Utilities Commission, a typical residential customer would pay $108.20 a month beginning Jan. 1, compared with $116.85 paid in January 2008 and this month's $113.97. A small business would pay $491.08, compared with this month's $532.97 and the $531.79 in January 2008.
Xcel buys natural gas from the wholesale market and uses it to generate electricity and to sell directly to customers to heat homes. It does not profit on the commodity.
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