Latest news with #PeoplesGas
Yahoo
19-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
West Virginia residents protest proposed 25% Hope Gas rate hike
CLARKSBURG, (WBOY) — Hope Gas customers across multiple counties in West Virginia received notice of a proposed rate increase that will take effect on May 30, and at least 95 letters of protest have been filed by residents. The proposed 40.95% overall increase includes a 25.41% increase for residential Hope Gas customers, a 35.42% increase for Peoples Gas residential customers, and even higher increases for some commercial customers, according to the letter. The increase will cause the average residential Hope Gas customer to pay about $21 more per month and the average Peoples Gas customer to pay $27 more per month, unless the proposal is denied by the Public Service Commission (PSC) of West Virginia. The proposed increase affects Hope Gas customers in Barbour, Boone, Braxton, Cabell, Calhoun, Clay, Doddridge, Fayette, Gilmer, Harrison, Jackson, Kanawha, Lewis, Lincoln, Logan, Marion, Marshall, Mason, McDowell, Mercer, Mingo, Monongalia, Nicholas, Pleasants, Preston, Raleigh, Randolph, Ritchie, Roane, Taylor, Tucker, Tyler, Upshur, Wayne, Wirt, Wetzel, Wood and Wyoming counties. Things to keep in mind if you have Memorial Day travel plans According to documents on the PSC's website, 95 letters of protest have been filed in the case. Many of the letters are from residents who say that the rate increase will be a financial burden for customers. The Producers Issues Committee of the Gas and Oil Association of WV and the Consumer Advocate Division have both filed petitions to intervene in the case. The case is now with the PSC, with a suspension order due by May 29. In October of 2024, an about approximately 6% rate increase for Hope Gas was approved by the PSC. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
08-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
How can we grow sustainably? 4 takeaways from Spotlight Tampa Bay event
Just a day before leaders in planning and development gathered to discuss how Tampa Bay can grow sustainably, emergency vehicles surrounded a 12-story Sand Key condominium complex. Residents were evacuated due to potential structural issues, calling to mind South Florida's Surfside condo collapse in 2021. That disaster, plus last year's storms, have made one thing clear: sustainable development can make the difference between life and death, between destruction and security. Thousands of Tampa Bay residents have been asked to rebuild their homes to be more resilient against hurricanes. At a Spotlight Tampa Bay event hosted by the Tampa Bay Times and sponsored by Tampa Electric Wednesday night, panelists discussed how the region can balance its breakneck growth with residents' quality of life and protection against storms. There are now more than 860,000 residences and homes in the region, and those numbers continue to grow, said Stephanie Smith, vice president of state and regional affairs at Tampa Electric and Peoples Gas. Roads, amenities and community resources must keep up with a surge of new residents and neighborhoods. Here's who participated in the panel: Moderator: Rebecca Liebson, real estate reporter Kartik Goyani, principal at Metro Development Group Melissa Zornitta, executive director of Plan Hillsborough Taylor Ralph, the president and founder of Real Building Consultants LLC Casey Ellison, CEO of Ellison Companies Abbye Feeley, administrator for development and economic opportunity with the city of Tampa Panelists weighed in on the future of Tampa Bay, particularly focusing on how to build more densely in a region defined by sprawl. Here are four takeaways from the event. People should be able to choose: do they want an urban, suburban or rural lifestyle while living in Tampa Bay? That's what Zornitta, the Hillsborough planner, emphasized. Hillsborough County is expanding its urban growth boundary, called an urban service area. But Zornitta said the county still wants to preserve a rural lifestyle for those who want it. In suburbs like Brandon and Town 'n Country, the goal is to introduce more mixed-use concepts and connectivity with the rest of the region, she said. That's true for growing suburbs in places like Plant City as well. Meanwhile, developers on the panel highlighted the need for more dense housing in urban Tampa, like the upcoming Gasworx project in Ybor City, for those who want true city living. 'In our urban markets, the more density, the better,' Ellison said. Tampa's Riverwalk and other pedestrian amenities are some of the most important advancements the city has made in recent decades, Ralph said. The market craves more urban housing stock than developers are currently supplying, driving prices up in the region's downtowns, he said. Goyani added that suburbs fulfill an important role: they can offer cheaper rents than the urban core. And they can be walkable, too, he said. Panelists said it's not just a local government problem: developers have a responsibility to help protect residents against storms, too. The city of Tampa is preparing permanent and temporary water pumps, and placing generators high up, to ease flooding and power problems the next time a big one strikes, Feeley said. It will take private-sector redevelopment in places like the University area, where flooding was widespread after Hurricane Milton, to fortify the area, Zornitta said. Building regulations are stronger than ever in terms of protecting structures against flooding, Ralph said. And developers are getting creative about the features they install. At The Central in St. Petersburg, a 2.1-acre project that will include a hotel, office building, retail space and workforce housing, Ellison is putting greenery on the top floor of the parking garage and roofs to prevent stormwater runoffs. Ralph, at the Gasworx redevelopment project, is putting utilities underground so they don't get swamped with floodwaters. New development will help make the region stronger against storms, Ralph said. 'New development and redevelopment should not be a bad word,' he said. 'Bad development should be a bad word.' Panelists shied away from saying there are parts of Tampa Bay, like its vulnerable barrier islands, where future development should be discouraged due to hazards from hurricanes. 'I don't know that there are places that are too risky to develop,' Zornitta said. But local governments discourage adding more density in the first places to evacuate, known as the 'coastal high hazard area,' she said. Insurance companies help inform consumers about the risks where they live, Ralph said. 'It's one of the first questions we get from our builders,' Koyani said. ''Hey, will our future homeowners have to pay a flood insurance premium, or did you raise the home high enough?'' One audience member asked about how old development factors in to all the buzz about new development. Zornitta said planners are updating the code so builders have more requirements to balance the look of new homes with the rest of the neighborhood. 'There's nothing wrong with old neighborhoods,' Feeley said. 'They're great. Protecting what is there is important.' Feeley recounted a small business's struggle to bring an old Ybor City house up to code in order to open a bookstore there. She suggested local leaders should put more thought into how to find new uses for places that are no longer livable. At Gasworx, residents can walk into an apartment building and read about historic Ybor City, Ralph said. He's also fought to preserve old buildings near the development, he said. 'That sense of place and those historic designations bring value to the community,' he said. 'What do you protect and what do you not protect?' --- Find more information about our Spotlight Tampa Bay series, including video recording of Wednesday's event here.
CBS News
28-04-2025
- General
- CBS News
Peoples Gas removes 164-year-old pipe under Chicago's Wabash Avenue
One of the oldest gas pipes in Chicago's heating system is being replaced. Construction crews on Monday removed the 164-year-old pipe beneath Wabash Avenue at 8th Street in the South Loop. The 2,000-pound pipe has been in use since 1861 — the year Abraham Lincoln took office as president and the Civil War started. The pipe had already been there when the Great Chicago Fire was raging blocks away. The pipe in conte3mporary times delivered heat and energy to numerous downtown buildings, including Miller's Pub and the Palmer House Hotel, according to Peoples Gas. But for all its history, it was time for the pipe to go. Peoples Gas said it was corroding and needed to be replaced with a modern pipeline. This pipe was one of several old and corroding energy pipes under Wabash Avenue that are being retired and replaced. Altogether, Peoples Gas and its union construction crews have safely taken out more than 5,8700 feet of pipeline from service in the area. The pipe removed Monday is going to a Peoples Gas facility for scientific study. It will help scientists understand and predict how construction materials will corrode over time.
Yahoo
02-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Spiking natural gas prices to hit home for Peoples Gas customers
When Peoples Gas was awarded a record $303 million rate hike in November 2023, the utility said the increase in delivery charges would be offset by projected lower gas prices, limiting the impact on its 894,000 Chicago customers. But a recent spike in gas prices may deliver a one-two punch to customers this spring, bringing home the longer-term impact of the rate increase that the utility downplayed when the gas costs were lower. Peoples Gas is charging customers 52.79 cents per therm for gas in April, up about 30% from March and 104% year-over-year, according to the Citizens Utility Board, making it the second-highest gas price Peoples has charged during April in a decade. 'Peoples Gas misled its customers,' CUB Executive Director Sarah Moskowitz said in a news release Wednesday. 'It was absurd for the utility to claim that its rate hike wouldn't lead to higher bills. The supply price spike took effect on April Fools' Day, but this is no joke for so many Chicago families who are struggling to afford their heating bills. We hope it's a warm spring.' Residential gas bills include both supply and distribution charges. While the utilities don't make any money on the supply end — the natural gas itself — they are responsible for procuring it as efficiently as possible, to hold down the cost paid by customers. Gas prices have been rising this year after the U.S. endured the coldest January in 37 years, increasing demand and draining underground storage supplies, according to analysts. Last month, the U.S. Energy Information Administration projected that higher consumption and lower inventories will lead to higher natural gas prices through 2026. 'The cost of natural gas is determined by global supply and demand, and the world's demand for natural gas is at an all-time high,' Peoples Gas spokesperson David Schwartz said in an email Wednesday. 'In fact the regional electric grid that serves Chicago is adding increasing amounts of gas to generate their power. These regional and global issues are increasing the cost of natural gas for customers around the world.' After two years of relative price stability, Peoples Gas' supply prices have increased from 31.73 cents per therm in December to 52.79 cents per therm this month. The last major spike in natural gas was during the pandemic, when the price for Peoples Gas customers peaked at $1.25 per therm in July 2022. In 2022, Peoples Gas residential customers paid an average of $131.50 per month. Last year, the average residential bill was $104.57 per month, despite the $303 million delivery rate increase — which took effect in 2024 — adding about $3.42 per month to the typical bill, according to the utility. With the delivery rate increase built in, spiking gas prices will likely raise the average residential bill in 2025, but Peoples Gas didn't provide a projected monthly cost. Many Peoples Gas customers can ill afford higher bills amid what CUB says is a 'heating affordability crisis.' In February, nearly 150,000 Chicago households were more than 30 days delinquent on their Peoples Gas bills, representing more than $74.5 million in debt, according to data filed by the utility to the Illinois Commerce Commission and provided by CUB. That same month, the ICC dealt Peoples a setback, ordering the utility to speed up and complete its long-running, multibillion-dollar pipeline replacement program by 2035, but denying a more comprehensive $7.2 billion proposal to modernize its entire system. In addition to Peoples, other gas companies in the Chicago area are passing along similar supply price increases in April, according to data supplied by CUB. North Shore Gas, the sister company to Peoples Gas which serves 165,000 customers in the northern suburbs, is charging 56 cents per therm for gas this month, a 58% year-over-year increase. Nicor Gas, which is owned by Atlanta-based Southern Co. and serves 2.3 million customers in suburban Chicago and across northern Illinois, is charging 58 cents per therm in April, up 71% over the same month last year. rchannick@
Chicago Tribune
02-04-2025
- Business
- Chicago Tribune
Spiking natural gas prices to hit home for Peoples Gas customers
When Peoples Gas was awarded a record $303 million rate hike in November 2023, the utility said the increase in delivery charges would be offset by projected lower gas prices, limiting the impact on its 894,000 Chicago customers. But a recent spike in gas prices may deliver a one-two punch to customers this spring, bringing home the longer-term impact of the rate increase that the utility downplayed when the gas costs were lower. Peoples Gas is charging customers 52.79 cents per therm for gas in April, up about 30 percent from March and 104 percent year-over-year, according to the Citizens Utility Board, making it the second highest gas price Peoples has charged during April in a decade. 'Peoples Gas misled its customers,' CUB Executive Director Sarah Moskowitz said in a news release Wednesday. 'It was absurd for the utility to claim that its rate hike wouldn't lead to higher bills. The supply price spike took effect on April Fools' Day, but this is no joke for so many Chicago families who are struggling to afford their heating bills. We hope it's a warm spring.' Residential gas bills include both supply and distribution charges. While the utilities don't make any money on the supply end — the natural gas itself — they are responsible for procuring it as efficiently as possible, to hold down the cost paid by customers. Gas prices have been rising this year after the U.S. endured the coldest January in 37 years, increasing demand and draining underground storage supplies, according to analysts. Last month, the U.S. Energy Information Administration projected that higher consumption and lower inventories will lead to higher natural gas prices through 2026. 'The cost of natural gas is determined by global supply and demand, and the world's demand for natural gas is at an all-time high,' Peoples Gas spokesperson David Schwartz said in an email Wednesday. 'In fact the regional electric grid that serves Chicago is adding increasing amounts of gas to generate their power. These regional and global issues are increasing the cost of natural gas for customers around the world. After two years of relative price stability, Peoples Gas' supply prices have increased from 31.73 cents per therm in December to 52.79 cents per therm this month. The last major spike in natural gas was during the pandemic, when the price for Peoples Gas customers peaked at $1.25 per therm in July 2022. In 2022, Peoples Gas residential customers paid an average of $131.50 per month. Last year, the average residential bill was $104.57 per month, despite the $303 million delivery rate increase — which took effect in 2024 — adding about $3.42 per month to the typical bill, according to the utility. With the delivery rate increase built in, spiking gas prices will likely raise the average residential bill in 2025, but Peoples Gas didn't provide a projected monthly cost. Many Peoples Gas customers can ill afford higher bills amid what CUB says is a 'heating affordability crisis.' In February, nearly 150,000 Chicago households were more than 30-days delinquent on their Peoples Gas bills, representing more than $74.5 million in debt, according to data filed by the utility to the Illinois Commerce Commission and provided by CUB. That same month, the ICC dealt Peoples a setback, ordering the utility to speed up and complete its long-running, multibillion-dollar pipeline replacement program by 2035, but denying a more comprehensive $7.2 billion proposal to modernize its entire system. In addition to Peoples, other gas companies in the Chicago area are passing along similar supply price increases in April, according to data supplied by CUB. North Shore Gas, the sister company to Peoples Gas which serves 165,000 customers in the northern suburbs, is charging 56 cents per therm for gas this month, a 58 percent year-over-year increase. Nicor Gas, which is owned by Atlanta-based Southern Co. and serves 2.3 million customers in suburban Chicago and across northern Illinois, is charging 58 cents per therm in April, up 71 percent over the same month last year.
