Customers of National Fuel Gas Distribution Corp. will see the price of gas rise 4.7 percent, effective today.

The increase raises the monthly bill of a typical residential customer — one who uses 95,000 cubic feet of gas a year — from $73.45 to $76.87.
The utility had projected earlier this year that the increase would be higher. In a state-mandated filing in January, the company had forecast a 10.2 percent increase would be made in August.

Sandra James, a spokeswoman for the Buffalo-based company, said the increase was the result of slightly higher costs for bringing gas to the area and a small increase in the predicted price of gas over the next year.

The company will have another opportunity to file for a gas price adjustment on Nov. 1.

By law, the utility cannot profit by raising the price of natural gas, but most pass those costs on to consumers dollar-for-dollar.