Hope Gas files rate hike proposal with Public Service Commission
dbeard@dominionpost.com
MORGANTOWN – Hope Gas filed with the Public Service Commission this week to increase its base rates. This is its first base rate case since 2020.
Hope said in its April 30 announcement of the case that the impact will vary depending on whether the customer was already served by Hope or by one of the six companies it acquired in 2023 and 2024. The proposed monthly rate increase would range from $21.10 to $33.74.
The PSC has 300 days to review the request and Hope projects the effective date for the new rates would be Feb. 25, 2026.
Base rate cases cover a company's operational costs, not the costs of the gas it purchases to distribute to customers – which is handled in separate cases.
Hope notes several factors included in its proposal: inflation since 2019; align the base rates for all Hope customers including recently acquired customers; investments in the safety and reliability of pipeline infrastructure; balance the costs appropriately between producers and customers based on the cost to serve those customer classes; creating a pilot program to provide bill payment assistance to eligible low-income families; creating a weather normalization mechanism that will adjust customer bills due to variations from normal weather.
Hope said the proposed new rates will produce an additional $79.6 million in operating revenue. It has chosen to exclude an additional $7.5 million in revenue for costs from IT, its Pipeline Replacement and Expansion Program, and certain facilities.
Here are Hope's proposed rate increases for the average monthly bill for various residential customers (actual increases would vary): existing Hope Gas, $21.10 (25.41%); former Peoples Gas, $27.17 (35.42%); former Southern Public Service, $33.74 (60.77%); former Standard/Bazzle, $28.46 (40.39%); former Consumers Gas, $22.25 (33.61%).
Hope didn't include a projected change for 60 customers formerly serve by Hometown Gas.
Hope consultant Melanie K. Popovich explained the proposed low-income discount program to the PSC. She said Hope serves 126,906 residential customers in 39 counties in West Virginia. Of those residential customers, 21,961 are estimated to be low-income households. The counties with the highest number of estimated low-income households are Harrison, Marion, Monongalia, and Wood.
She said Hope is proposing a two-year pilot program limited to 2,500 qualifying low-income customers who would be offered a monthly bill discount of 25%. For example, if a qualifying customer has a monthly bill of $200, Hope would reduce it by $50 to $150.
Jo Carol Farmer, Hope's senior vice president for Regulatory Affairs and Government Relations, said, 'While inflation has increased costs across the board, Hope remains committed to providing natural gas service at the greatest value possible for the homes and businesses we serve and to continue investing in the future of the Mountain State. … 'We understand the impact price increases have on families and businesses. Many of these same increases have impacted our business over the past five years. We have done all we can to minimize the amount of this request while ensuring we can continue to provide the safe, reliable natural gas service necessary for our customers today and maintain the infrastructure needed for the state's future.'
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