NOTICE OF FILING AND HEARING
On July 31, 2018, Mountaineer Gas Company (Mountaineer) filed its annual Application for approval of an Intrastructure Replacement and Expansion Program for 2019 (2019 IREP) with revised IREP rates for 2019, pursuant to W.Va. Code Œ24-2-1k, 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 Application, Mountaineer forecasts capital investment for calendar year 2019 of approximately $40 million as part of its multi-year plan, which includes $16.5 million for extensions as part of the Eastern Panhandle Expansion Project. The 2019 IREP covers several categories of plant asset replacements and improvements, including mains, service lines, automated meter reading devices, measurement and regulator stations, and house regulators and mainline 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 Commissionás offices at 201 Brooks Street, Charleston, West Virginia, and which may be viewed on the Commissionás website,
www.pcs.state.wv.us
Mountaineer proposes to recover costs associated with these investments through an additional increments to be effective on January 1, 2019, within the fixed or volumetric base rate component of its rates, depending on the applicable rate schedule, that is to be cumulative of the 2018 IREP Rate Component now in place. Mountaineer projects that if the program and rate increment are approved as requested, the average monthly bill for its various classes of customers will be changed on January 1, 2019, in accordance with Column A.
Column A (Mountaineer Proposed)
Type of Customer $Increase %Increase Avg. Usage (Mcf)
Residential $ 1.52 2.49% 6
Commercial $ 3.48 1.38% 30
Large Commercial $102.55 1.06% 5,246
Industrial $189.90 1.73% 47,206
Resale $ 47.06 1.38% 567
The increases shown above are based on averages of all customers in the indicated class. Each class may receive an increase greater or less than stated here. Individual customers may receive increases that are greater or less than average.
The Commission set a procedural schedule, including a hearing date on the Application, if necessary, that will begin at 9:00 a.m. on Thursday, November 8, 2018 in the Howard M. Cunningham Hearing Room at the Commissionás 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 Commissionás 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 Ingrid Ferrell, Executive Secretary, P.O. Box 812, Charleston, West Virginia 25323. Public comments may also be filed online at
www.pcs.state.wv.us/scripts/onlinecomments/default.cfm by clicking the âFormal Caseã link.
MOUNTAINEER GAS COMPANY
Sept 4