Gas bills could go up in parts of Maryland, Wisconsin and North Carolina if rate increases proposed by Washington Gas, Wisconsin Public Service and Piedmont Natural Gas are approved by regulators. The utilities mainly attributed their requests to infrastructure investments and service expansions.
Washington Gas filed a request with the Maryland Public Service Commission for a $31.4 million increase in annual gas revenues. It is the company's first general filing for a rate increase in Maryland in eight years. The company said rapidly rising costs, including new paving and permitting regulations, inflation and increased investment in piping infrastructure to support service to Maryland customers have made it necessary to seek an upward adjustment to rates. The company is requesting an overall cost of capital of 9.67% versus its current 9.79% cost of capital. The company seeks a return on common equity of 12.50% versus its current return on common equity of 11.50%.
If approved, the proposal would increase the annual cost to the average residential heating customer in Maryland by $69.44, or 9.1%. This represents an average monthly increase of $5.79, based on a typical annual usage of 885 therms of natural gas. Washington Gas serves 382,000 customers in Maryland.
Green Bay-based Wisconsin Public Service Corp., a subsidiary of WPS Resources filed a request with the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin to raise its electric and natural gas rates for 2003 and 2004. The company requested an overall increase in electric rates of 8.3% in 2003 and 4.9% in 2004. It also requested an increase in natural gas rates by 2.7% in 2003 and 1.4% in 2004.
The company cited measures to ensure reliable electricity as a primary reason for the requested electric rate increases. Public Service noted that costs associated with a Kewaunee Nuclear Power Plant refueling outage and increased costs associated with electricity generation were major reasons for the request. Infrastructure improvements and the cost of heightened security at utility facilities also contributed. If the increases requested were applied to the current 2002 rate levels, the bill of a typical residential customer who uses 630 kWh of electricity each month would increase by $4.38 in 2003 and $2.80 in 2004. Typical residential customers who use 1000 therms of natural gas annually will see their bills rise by a monthly average of $2.21 in 2003 and by $1.14 the following year.
Piedmont Natural Gas filed a general rate increase request with the North Carolina Utilities Commission to recover the cost of the additional $119 million in capital investments made by the company since its last general rate case in March 2000. The capital additions have enabled Piedmont to continue to add pipeline capacity, equipment and facilities to expand service to new customers and to maintain and improve service to existing customers in the state.
The general rate increase request is unrelated to the several substantial decreases in the wholesale gas cost portion of the company's rates that have taken place over the past year in North Carolina. Since January 2001, Piedmont's residential rates have declined by 38.5% as a result of the passthrough of lower wholesale gas costs that comprise 55% of customers' bills. The remaining 45% of customers' bills covers the cost of distribution, which the general rate filing will address.
For the average residential customer using 91 dekatherms of natural gas annually in North Carolina, the proposed increase would mean an increase of $5 per month on an annual basis. The average residential customer bill would rise from $50.57 to $55.59 per month on an annual basis. The rate increase, if approved, would become effective Nov. 1, 2002.
Since its last general rate increase filing in March 2000, Piedmont has added 44,500 customers in North Carolina, and is among the fastest-growing natural gas utilities in the nation. The company now serves over 430,000 customers in North Carolina.
Copyright 2002 Intelligence Press Inc. All rights reserved. The preceding news report may not be republished or redistributed, in whole or in part, in any form, without prior written consent of Intelligence Press, Inc.
Gas bills could go up in parts of Maryland, Wisconsin and North Carolina if rate increases proposed by Washington Gas, Wisconsin Public Service and Piedmont Natural Gas are approved by regulators. The utilities mainly attributed their requests to infrastructure investments and service expansions.
Washington Gas filed a request with the Maryland Public Service Commission for a $31.4 million increase in annual gas revenues. It is the company's first general filing for a rate increase in Maryland in eight years. The company said rapidly rising costs, including new paving and permitting regulations, inflation and increased investment in piping infrastructure to support service to Maryland customers have made it necessary to seek an upward adjustment to rates. The company is requesting an overall cost of capital of 9.67% versus its current 9.79% cost of capital. The company seeks a return on common equity of 12.50% versus its current return on common equity of 11.50%.
If approved, the proposal would increase the annual cost to the average residential heating customer in Maryland by $69.44, or 9.1%. This represents an average monthly increase of $5.79, based on a typical annual usage of 885 therms of natural gas. Washington Gas serves 382,000 customers in Maryland.
Green Bay-based Wisconsin Public Service Corp., a subsidiary of WPS Resources filed a request with the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin to raise its electric and natural gas rates for 2003 and 2004. The company requested an overall increase in electric rates of 8.3% in 2003 and 4.9% in 2004. It also requested an increase in natural gas rates by 2.7% in 2003 and 1.4% in 2004.
The company cited measures to ensure reliable electricity as a primary reason for the requested electric rate increases. Public Service noted that costs associated with a Kewaunee Nuclear Power Plant refueling outage and increased costs associated with electricity generation were major reasons for the request. Infrastructure improvements and the cost of heightened security at utility facilities also contributed. If the increases requested were applied to the current 2002 rate levels, the bill of a typical residential customer who uses 630 kWh of electricity each month would increase by $4.38 in 2003 and $2.80 in 2004. Typical residential customers who use 1000 therms of natural gas annually will see their bills rise by a monthly average of $2.21 in 2003 and by $1.14 the following year.
Piedmont Natural Gas filed a general rate increase request with the North Carolina Utilities Commission to recover the cost of the additional $119 million in capital investments made by the company since its last general rate case in March 2000. The capital additions have enabled Piedmont to continue to add pipeline capacity, equipment and facilities to expand service to new customers and to maintain and improve service to existing customers in the state.
The general rate increase request is unrelated to the several substantial decreases in the wholesale gas cost portion of the company's rates that have taken place over the past year in North Carolina. Since January 2001, Piedmont's residential rates have declined by 38.5% as a result of the passthrough of lower wholesale gas costs that comprise 55% of customers' bills. The remaining 45% of customers' bills covers the cost of distribution, which the general rate filing will address.
For the average residential customer using 91 dekatherms of natural gas annually in North Carolina, the proposed increase would mean an increase of $5 per month on an annual basis. The average residential customer bill would rise from $50.57 to $55.59 per month on an annual basis. The rate increase, if approved, would become effective Nov. 1, 2002.
Since its last general rate increase filing in March 2000, Piedmont has added 44,500 customers in North Carolina, and is among the fastest-growing natural gas utilities in the nation. The company now serves over 430,000 customers in North Carolina.
Copyright 2002 Intelligence Press Inc. All rights reserved. The preceding news report may not be republished or redistributed, in whole or in part, in any form, without prior written consent of Intelligence Press, Inc.
