The commission conditionally approved a 2.7 percent overall rate hike for residential and business customers of Cascade Natural Gas Company. The commission's order accepted with some modifications an agreement by the company and other parties to the rate case that would allow Cascade to collect an additional $7 million in revenues and increase residential rates by about $3 a month. Full press release.
Commission order
Cascade's testimony
UTC regulatory staff testimony
NW Energy Coalition testimony
Public Counsel testimony
Northwest Industrial Gas Users testimony
The Energy Project (Bellingham) testimony
Cost Management Services (natural gas marketer) testimony
For more document associated with this case, see document below.
Under the company's proposal, the average residential customer would see a 9.5% increase, about $9.64 a month. Customers can comment on Cascade's proposal via our Public Comments web page (http://www.wutc.wa.gov/comment.) Among factors cited by Cascade for its rate increase are a new benefit plan for Cascade employees, low-income bill assistance, changes to its call center operations, and investments in automated meter reading technology.
Cascade' request also includes a new pricing system that would “decouple” recovery of some costs from the volume of natural gas that customers use. According to the company, cost recovery under the current rate structure is tied to the volume of natural gas that customers use, creating a disincentive for the company to promote conservation.
Company rebuttal testimony is due Sept. 12. Five days of formal hearings will begin Mon. Oct. 9. The schedule calls for two rounds of briefs: initial briefs, due Nov. 15, and answering briefs on Dec. 1, 2006. The commission should reach a decision by Jan. 16, 2007.
General rate cases such as this address a utility's cost of providing service (that is, the cost of pipes in the ground), and can take up to ten months to allow the commission to conduct a thorough review of evidence. These cases usually don't include the cost of natural gas, however, which are reviewed through separate "purchased gas adjustments" (or PGAs) twice a year. This will be Cascade's first general rate case in a decade, although Cascade customers saw a 25% increase in the cost of natural gas in fall 2005.
Cascade Natural Gas serves about 178,000 Washington customers in Bellingham, Bremerton, Yakima, and Walla Walla, and in Adams, Benton, Chelan, Cowlitz, Douglas, Franklin, Grant, Grays Harbor, Island, Kitsap, Mason, Skagit, Snohomish, Walla Walla, Whatcom and Yakima counties.
Posted/updated: 05/22/2007
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