Natural gas rates will increase for Oak Ridge Utility District customers because of weather-related price increases and higher transportation costs. Rates are expected to decrease when weather-related spikes decline.

The rates will increase because there has been a rise in the price of natural gas related to the recent extreme weather, ORUD Director of Finance/Controller Robert DePriest said Friday.

Also, in January, there was an increase in the transportation costs that ORUD pays for the delivery of natural gas to its distribution system, DePriest said in a statement.

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