Legal 3 col x 7”
0911
CASE NO. 19-0709-G-390P
MOUNTAINEER GAS COMPANY, a public utility,
Charleston, Kanawha County.
Surcharge on Infrastructure Improvements.
NOTICE OF FILING AND HEARING
On July 31, 2019, Mountaineer Gas Company (Mountaineer) filed its annual Application for approval of an Infrastructure Replacement and Expansion Program for 2020 (2020 IREP) with revised IREP rates for 2020, pursuant to W.Va. Code § 24-2-1k, which authorizes the Public Service Commission of West Virginia to approve cost recovery of projects to replace, upgrade and expand natural gas utility infrastructure that are deemed to be just and reasonable and in the public interest.
In its annual Application, Mountaineer forecasts capital investment for calendar year 2020 of approximately $41 million as part of its multi-year plan, which includes $1 million for the Eastern Panhandle Expansion Project. The 2020 IREP covers several categories of plant asset replacements and improvements, including mains, service lines, measurement and regulator stations, and house regulators and farm taps. These plant investments are proposed to be made in Mountaineer service territories throughout the State. These investments are identified in the Application, which is on file and available for public inspection at the Commission’s offices at 201 Brooks Street, Charleston, West Virginia, and which may be viewed on the Commission’s website, www.psc.state.wv.us.
Mountaineer proposes to recover costs associated with these investments through a reduced IREP rate component to be effective on January 1, 2020, within the fixed or volumetric base rate component of its rates, depending on the applicable rate schedule under which service is rendered. As part of Mountaineer’s pending general base rate proceeding, Case Number 19-0319-G-42T, IREP investment made prior to January 1, 2019, will be moved into new base rates to take effect on January 1, 2020. Mountaineer projects that if the IREP program and IREP rate reduction are approved as requested, the average monthly bill for its various classes of customers will be changed on January 1, 2020, as shown below:
Column A (Mountaineer Proposed)
Type of Customer $ Decrease {4ceb532c6f579389df471c6c1e832caf2346b74dc60fcbf6aabd4d29df3baf9c} Decrease Avg. Usage (Mcf)
Residential $ 1.56 2.58{4ceb532c6f579389df471c6c1e832caf2346b74dc60fcbf6aabd4d29df3baf9c} 6
Commercial $ 3.67 1.48{4ceb532c6f579389df471c6c1e832caf2346b74dc60fcbf6aabd4d29df3baf9c} 30
Large Commercial $ 118.71 1.21{4ceb532c6f579389df471c6c1e832caf2346b74dc60fcbf6aabd4d29df3baf9c} 5,826
Industrial $ 204.75 1.45{4ceb532c6f579389df471c6c1e832caf2346b74dc60fcbf6aabd4d29df3baf9c} 62,790
Resale $ 66.94 1.76{4ceb532c6f579389df471c6c1e832caf2346b74dc60fcbf6aabd4d29df3baf9c} 7,798
The decreases shown above are expected to be offset by new base rates. When both the revised base rates and the IREP rate decreases are in effect during 2020, the total amount due on monthly bills for Mountaineer customers may not be lower than, and in fact likely will be higher than, the amount that was billed each month during 2019.
The decreases shown above are compared to the IREP rates currently in place and are based on averages of all customers in the indicated class. Each class may receive a decrease greater or less than stated here. Individual customers may receive decreases that are greater or less than average. Furthermore, the requested rates and charges are only a proposal and are subject to change (increase or decrease) by the Public Service Commission in its review of this filing. Any decrease in IREP rates and charges will not become effective until authorized and approved by the Public Service Commission.
The Commission set a procedural schedule, including a hearing date on the Application, if necessary, that will begin at 9:30 a.m. on Tuesday, November 5, 2019, in the Howard M. Cunningham Hearing Room at the Commission’s offices at 201 Brooks Street, Charleston, West Virginia. If no opposition to the Application is received by the Commission within one week of the hearing date, the hearing may be waived and the Commission may issue a final order within 150 days of the Application filing date.
Anyone desiring to intervene should file a written petition to intervene within 20 days following the date of this publication unless otherwise modified by Commission order. All requests to intervene should briefly state the reason for the request to intervene and comply with the rules on intervention set forth in the Commission’s Rules of Practice and Procedure. The Commission will receive public comments until the beginning of the hearing. All written comments and requests to intervene should state the case name and number and be addressed to Connie Graley, Executive Secretary, P.O. Box 812, Charleston, West Virginia 25323. Public comments may also be filed online at http:lwww.psc.state.wv.us/scripts/onlinecomments/default.cfm by clicking the “Formal Case’’ link.
MOUNTAINEER GAS COMPANY