Residential customers with Oregon’s largest natural gas utility could see a nearly 7% increase on their bills later this year.

NW Natural, which serves more than 2.5 million people in Oregon and Southwest Washington, is proposing a residential rate increase of 6.8% starting on Nov. 1.

That equates to about $5.55 more a month on the average household energy bill.

The utility increased residential rates by nearly 5% in November 2024. If the proposed rate increase is approved, NW Natural customers will be paying more than 50% more on their bills than they did in 2020.

“General rate cases are a regular part of doing business as a regulated utility and they are an essential part of providing safe, reliable service that can keep up with growing demand for natural gas in the region,” NW Natural spokesperson David Roy said in an emailed statement.

Roy said rate increases impact everyone, but the company is working on keeping rates down. He also said customers are paying less on their energy bills than they did in 2005.

The reasons for the latest requested increase include inflation, system upgrades, replacing equipment at a storage facility and a pipeline, and a profit increase.

The utility is asking for a one percentage point increase in profit margins, from 9.4% to 10.4%, which would cost customers millions of dollars each year.

The rate increase will not fund political and promotional advertising, lobbying expenses, charitable giving or political candidate contributions, according to Roy.

General rate cases go through a rigorous monthslong process of review before they are approved by the Oregon Public Utilities Commission, and Roy said it’s possible the final rate increase could look different from the company’s original request.

Over five years, Oregon’s major for-profit utilities have all raised energy rates by more than 50%. Many people are reeling from increase after increase at the state’s largest electricity providers, and many have been disconnected for nonpayment. Last year, between January and October, PGE disconnected more than 32,000 customers for nonpayment.

According to consumer advocacy group Oregon Citizens’ Utility Board, NW Natural disconnected more than 9,000 households for non-payment in 2024.

Oregon CUB’s communications and outreach director Charlotte Shuff said though the utility’s requested increase is smaller than in previous years, it could still have a big impact on households.

“This is not something we can just think about in isolation. 7% this year, sure, that’s pretty small potatoes. But when you look at the last 5 years, including this request, we’re looking at a 50% increase,” she said. “I don’t have 50% more wages than I did 5 years ago, and I know that’s true for most people and the cost of everything going up, this is going to have a really large impact on folks, even though the individual request is pretty small.”

Shuff said her organization looked at how the increase would impact customers’ bills during winter, the time of year when homes use more gas to keep warm. It found that if this rate is approved and takes effect on Nov. 1, the average household’s winter bills could be about $136 a month.

“Obviously this would vary household by household, but this could have a pretty big impact on larger families, on older homes, and on low-income families in particular,” she said.

Because the new rates will go in effect at a time when temperatures begin to drop and the start of winter is around the corner, Oregon CUB is supporting House Bill 3179, known as the FAIR Energy Act, which would move increases out of winter months. Shuff said the bill would also address the impacts of back to back rate increases on customers’ bills.

“All of these increases happen in winter months, which is really problematic for customers, really good for utility profits, but the impact of this is definitely felt in those months where usage is the highest,” she said.

Oregon CUB also expects to see NW Natural file a separate rate case, called a purchase gas adjustment, later this year.

A purchase gas adjustment reflects changes in the actual cost of natural gas used by the utility. This type of rate case does not mean the utility can increase rates beyond passing through the change to the cost of natural gas. According to NW Natural’s Roy, some years, purchase gas adjustment costs decrease, which happened for the utility last year.

The Oregon Public Utilities Commission will hold a public hearing on NW Natural’s rate case on March 18.

If approved, the rate change will go into effect in November.

News Source : https://www.opb.org/article/2025/03/11/nw-natural-customers-seven-percent-rate-hike/