Pennsylvania natural gas hits highest price in last decade, report says

Rachel McDevitt

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I report on energy and the environment for StateImpact Pennsylvania at WITF.

My work focuses on responses and solutions to climate change in the state legislature and communities around the state. I trace my interest in these issues back to my time as a Girl Scout and this episode of Rocko’s Modern Life.

I look forward to winter just for the chance to ski a few times each season. I try to keep myself from doom-scrolling on my phone by keeping my hands busy knitting and learning to play the piano.

I grew up in Cambria County, Pa. and graduated from Temple University. I started at WITF just after Christmas in 2014.

$A MarkWest Liberty natural gas pipeline and fracking well cap is seen in Valencia, Pennsylvania on Wednesday, Oc. 14, 2020.$

Ted Shaffrey / AP Photo

A MarkWest Liberty natural gas pipeline and fracking well cap is seen in Valencia, Pennsylvania on Wednesday, Oc. 14, 2020.

June 2, 2022 | 5:46 PM

Pennsylvania natural gas prices have spiked to their highest level in the last decade.

A recent report from the Independent Fiscal Office shows natural gas prices hit an average of $4.10 per million British thermal units in the first three months of 2022.

That’s a 62 percent jump from the same time last year, when prices averaged $2.53 per MMBtu.

Prices averaged $3.97 per unit in the last quarter of 2021.

Pennsylvania continues to produce more gas year-over-year, but its rate of growth is slowing compared to before the COVID-19 pandemic.

The IFO report shows production declined half a percent compared to the first quarter of 2021.

The agency noted the increase in producing wells has dropped to its lowest rate in the last decade. It said, without a significant increase in new drilling, the number of active wells could stagnate.

The IFO expects prices to stay on the upswing because of global pressures.

The high price of gas can affect utility bills.

Gas power plants make up about half of Pennsylvania’s electricity generation.

Utility providers across the state increased rates this month.