In a move aimed at giving Kentuckians quicker relief from this winter's high gas bills, the state's Public Service Commission on Tuesday ordered utilities to begin filing monthly changes in their gas costs.

        The hope is that as gas prices decline from this winter's record highs, lower prices will be passed onto consumers faster than if prices were adjusted quarterly, said Jill Midkiff, PSC spokeswoman.

        “Customers who have borne the brunt of increases should obtain relief from those increases as quickly as possible,” the commission's 16-page order said.

        The commission also asked the utilities to submit reports in 60 days on ways to ease the impact of higher gas prices in the future.

        Kentucky law requires the state's five gas utilities to file changes in their gas cost — the price they actually pass on to customers for the fuel — every three months. But in the face of wholesale prices that have quadrupled over the past year, the PSC allowed the utilities to file their adjustments more frequently.

        Tuesday's order affects Union Light, Heat and Power Co., the Cinergy Corp. subsidiary that supplies gas to consumers in Northern Kentucky.

        Steve Brash, spokesman for ULH&P which has just under 85,000 customers in Northern Kentucky, said the utility is seeking more information from the PSC on what was required in the new filings.

        Now ULH&P files what it expects to pay for gas plus adjustments for under or over recoveries from the preceding period that are spread over a 12-month period.

        He said it's not clear whether the PSC order requires that level of detail or something else.

        With warmer weather approaching and gas drilling activity increasing, the commission anticipates that wholesale gas prices will continue to fall, Ms. Midkiff said.

        After wholesale prices peaked around $10 per thousand cubic feet in late December, prices have declined to around $7 per thousand cubic feet recently.

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