Southern Maine to feel natural gas price sting
As the big chill continues to cross the nation, its impact is about to hit southern Maine in the form of natural gas price hikes, according to the Portland Press Herald.
The Public Utilities Commission approved a 7.5% midwinter rate hike for Unitil Corp., Maine’s largest natural gas supplier, with the company citing the extreme cold and high demand when making the request, the newspaper reported. The average home customer will see a total winter gas bill of $837 rise by about $63, with the new rate running until the heating season ends April 30.
The newspaper noted the price bump affects 9,400 businesses and 19,350 home customers, mainly in greater Portland and the Lewiston-Auburn area.
In a related development, Portland made a respectable showing on the “winter misery index,” with its 16th most severe winter in the past 64 years, according to a Press Herald article.
The index, developed by a National Weather Service meteorologist, is based on the amount of snow and freezing weather a city experiences compared to historical trends.
But before Mainers complain, Detroit roundly beat out Portland’s “severe” ranking with its worst winter since the 1950s, when Harry Truman was president. More than 6-½ feet of snow has blanketed Motor City residents, who also have suffered through 100 days of below freezing temperatures.
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