MIDDLESBORO — As of Nov. 1, Delta Natural Gas Co. customers will see a significant reduction in their natural gas bills. Delta’s rates are changed quarterly to reflect changes in the company’s cost of gas.

For a three month period beginning in Nov. and ending in Jan., the gas cost component of customer’s bills will be almost 50 percent less than for the same quarter last year.

Delta Natural Gas Co. — which serves approximately 37,000 customers in 23 counties of central and southeastern Kentucky — does not mark up the cost of gas, but rather earns its return from the monthly customer charge and the delievery charge which is established by the Kentucky Public Service Commission (KPSC).

Nearly 50 percent of the natural gas consumed by Delta customers during the winter months is purchased during the summer and injected into storage. For that reason, rates for the quarter beginning in Feb. and ending in April will also be less than for that same period last year, but the ultimate cost of gas for that period will be impacted by actual gas costs as the winter advances.