PLEASANT UNITY, Pa. -- Dominion Peoples said customers can expect to see their natural gas bills increase as early as this month.

Watch Jen Miele's Report

Erica Flack, of Pleasant Unity, Westmoreland County, is on the budget plan and saw her monthly payment jump from $89 to $176.

"I thought maybe they made a mistake or something like that," she told Channel 4 Action News reporter Jennifer Miele.

Natural gas is in high demand, which is driving up prices. The price of oil is so high that people would rather use natural gas.

In January, Dominion Peoples was paying about $9.50 for 1,000 cubic feet of natural gas. This summer, it's paying almost $16 -- which is approximately a 60 percent increase.

The utility isn't allowed to make any money off of the gas it sells, but it's allowed to pass on the increasing cost of gas in customers' bills.

Dominion Peoples said the rate increase will vary among customers, depending on usage and meter reading.

Because rates are adjusted quarterly, the current increase will last at least until October.