By Kevin Hanson

The Courier-Herald

Keeping warm is getting more expensive.

At least, that’s the case for Enumclaw residents who heat their homes with natural gas.

Facing steadily-increasing supply costs, the city was poised this week to take the first step in a process that will see higher rates charged to nearly 3,900 customers. Enumclaw, one of the rare communities to maintain its own natural gas utility, provides gas to 3,436 single-family homes and 439 other customers.

On the City Council’s Monday night agenda was a proposal to increase rates by 56 percent. The unit of measurement for natural gas is a therm, and the recommendation passed to council members was to bump the rate from the current 89 cents per therm to $1.38.

Public Works Director Chris Searcy admitted the proposed hike is &#8221very dramatic.“ He said his department has other alternatives, &#8221some higher and some lower.“

City Administrator Mark Bauer said council members would likely give any rate-related ordinance a first reading, holding final adoption until Oct. 24.

New rates would likely cover a one-year period, Searcy said, beginning Nov. 1.

Natural gas customers living in unincorporated areas are already facing an increase, as the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission recently approved a request by Puget Sound Energy that bumped rates by an average of 12 to 15 percent for all groups of customers. The new rates went into effect Oct. 1.

PSE said a typical household might use 80 therms of natural gas a month. For such customers, the company said, monthly bills will increase by about $11.31 to a total of about $96.48.

PSE is the largest natural gas provider in the state, serving more than 683,000 customers in King, Pierce, Thurston, Snohomish, Lewis and Kittitas counties.

Kevin Hanson can be reached at khanson@courierherald.com.