Chicago natural gas customers could see their bills go up by more than $100 a year in 2012 under a rate hike proposal that Peoples Gas filed Tuesday with the Illinois Commerce Commission.

Peoples Gas and North Shore Gas, subsidiaries of the Integrys Energy Group, said they are asking for higher rates to offset increased delivery costs. Peoples Gas is asking for a hike that would tack on about $9 per month to a typical small residential customer’s bill, adding up to $108 a year. The increase applies only to the delivery charge, with the cost of natural gas and taxes remaining the same, the utility said in a statement.

In the case of North Shore Gas, the utility is seeking a rate adjustment that would mean a $3 monthly increase for the typical customer, or roughly $36 a year.
Delivery costs represent about 40 percent of a Peoples Gas customer’s bill. North Shore Gas customers’ delivery costs amount to about 30 percent of their bill.

If approved, the new rates would take effect in early 2012, the utility said.

The proposed rate hike comes about a year after the ICC approved a rate increase that added $48 a year to Peoples Gas customers’ bill and
$66 a year for North Shore customers. The utility cited higher costs for  those increases, which took effect in late January 2010.

David Kolata, executive director of Citizens Utility Board, said the group is reviewing the proposal and will do “everything we can to make sure consumers don’t pay a penny more for natural gas than they should.”

“Certainly I think the timing could be a heck of a lot better,” Kolata said. “Not only did they just get a pretty big rate increase last year, but the economy continues to struggle. A lot of folks are having a tough time paying their bills as it is.”

The utility said it’s sympathetic to the plight of consumers.

“We understand many of our customers are struggling with rising costs just as our company is grappling with the ever-increasing costs of doing business,” Will Evans, Jr., president of Peoples Gas and North Shore Gas, said in a Tuesday statement. “The proposed rate adjustment we are seeking for the company is vital in order to access the capital necessary to continue investing in the safety and reliability of its infrastructure.”

The company noted that it cut costs last year, including layoffs in its administrative staff and mandatory one-week furloughs for all employees.

wawong@tribune.com