Columbia Gas of Virginia customers will benefit from lower natural gas commodity prices with an 8.8-percent reduction in total monthly customer bills.

The proposed prices take effect with customer bills being mailed after March 1.

“This reduction in gas costs is good news for our customers and clearly reinforces the need to support a strong natural gas production industry,” said Brent Archer, Columbia’s president.

“It’s important to recognize that the ability to make domestically produced natural gas readily available results in a direct benefit for our customers in the amount they pay for monthly service.”