PSC Orders Lower Natural Gas Rates

SEATTLE (Oil Monster): The Public Service Commission has ordered natural gas utilities to lower the purchased gas portion of their rates for more than 95 percent of the natural gas customers in the state.

The lower interim rates go into effect Nov. 1. Final rates will be set in early 2019. 

Mountaineer Gas Company (which serves 215,912 customers) will see a decrease in the purchased gas portion of their rates of 3.95 percent; Hope Gas/Dominion Energy (which serves 111,550 customers) will see a decrease of 5.66 percent; Peoples Gas (which serves 12,840 customers) will see a decrease of 6.33 percent; and Lumberport-Shinnston Gas (which serves 3,354 customers) will see a decrease of 5.84 percent.

While many rates were lowered, rates will increase for A.V. Gas (up 52.17 percent for 67 customers), Blacksville Oil & Gas (up 2.07 percent for 292 customers), Bluefield Gas (up 4.32 percent for 3,311 customers), Canaan Valley Gas (up 8.06 percent for 589 customers), Southern Public Service (up 6.16 percent for 6,322 customers), Standard Gas (up 50.28 percent for 419 customers), and Union Oil & Gas (up 4.79 percent for 6,265 customers).  

The release said the Commission does not regulate the price of natural gas — that price is determined by competitive markets. The Commission does examine the gas purchasing practices of each gas utility and ensures the utility did everything possible to obtain a reliable gas supply at the lowest possible market price.

By law, gas utilities are permitted to recover their costs to purchase natural gas. The gas rates of customers are adjusted annually to account for the cost of gas in a process called a Purchased Gas Adjustment (PGA) proceeding before the Commission.

The PGA is an estimate of expected prices utilities will have to pay for gas from their suppliers for the period of Nov. 1 through Oct. 31 of the following year, as well as a “true up” of actual costs for the previous year. The PGA does not include any profit for the utility.

 Courtesy: www.register-herald.com