NW Natural customers in Oregon will be seeing an increase in their bills this winter.  New rates recently approved by the Public Utility Commission of Oregon include the annual Purchased Gas Adjustment to true-up the prior year’s gas purchases and project the cost of natural gas for the year ahead.  The changes are driven by multiple factors, including economy-wide supply and demand impacts during the COVID-19 pandemic, coupled with higher prices experienced during last winter’s heating season.  Starting November 1, NW Natural customers in Oregon can expect to see new rates on monthly bills starting November 1.  Rates for residential customers in Oregon will be about $7.50 more a month for customers using an average of 54 therms per month.  Rates for small-commercial customers in Oregon will be about $36.21 more a month for customers using an average of 242 therms per month.  Mitigating this increase, NW Natural’s sales customers could see a one-time bill credit in February, which would equate to an approximate $35 credit on the average residential customer’s bill and an approximate $165 credit on the average small-commercial customer’s bill.