Philadelphians Catching a Break on Natural Gas Prices
Although no shale deposits lie beneath Southeast Pennsylvania, Philadelphia residents are reaping some benefits from the Marcellus Shale boom. Philadelphia Gas Works announced today that they’re dropping their rates, cutting residential heating bills by an average of 2.5 percent.
“In the last year alone, PGW’s natural gas rate has fallen from $1.562 per hundred cubic feet (Ccf) on June 1, 2011, to today’s rate of $1.35623 per Ccf for residential customers. On an annualized basis, the average PGW residential customer, using 880 Ccf of natural gas a year, now pays $181 less than they did twelve months ago.”
PGW does not purchase its gas directly from Marcellus Shale deposits. But the shale gas drilling has created a surplus of natural gas, driving down the price nationwide.
