Business
P.U. C. Prompts Gas Rate “Math Story Problem”
September 14, 2017 
Idaho’s Public Utilities Commission sent out a press release today explaining that the average homeowner would see a rate INCREASE of 37 cents per month from Intermountain Gas.
The GUARDIAN world Headquarters got a gas bill today as well of $5.67 for not using any gas. We also got a bill insert explaining that Intermountain has filed for rate DECREASE of $3.32 per month for the average residential consumer.
That would appear to show a DECREASE of $2.95. But wait, there’s more! We got a “clarification” from the P.U.C. so GUARDIAN readers and gas company customers would understand.
“So here’s the context that was left out of the Intermountain release:
The company has two other cases pending before the Commission that could impact rates this fall. Intermountain has asked for both proposals to take effect Oct. 1, but that doesn’t seem likely given that today is 9/14.
If the Commission were to approve the two pending proposals in full, combined with the settlement of the rate case, the overall impact for residential customers would be an average monthly decrease of $2.73, or 6.6 percent. Commercial customers would see an average monthly decrease of $15.65, or 8.8 percent.
Here are the specifics of those two cases that are still before the commission:
Case INT-G-17-05 calls for a decrease in the Purchased Gas Adjustment, an annual billing mechanism that is adjusted each fall to reflect changes in costs the company incurs purchasing natural gas. It allows the utility to recover expenses when they outpace PGA revenue, or credit customers when revenue exceeds expenses. If approved in full, the company’s proposed PGA for the coming year would lower the monthly bill of a residential customer by an average of $3.32 or 8.1 percent.
Case INT-G-17-03 calls for the creation of a billing mechanism that would allow Intermountain to recover from residential customers the costs associated with the Energy Efficiency Rebate Program. The proposal would lead to a 22-cent increase on the average residential customer’s monthly bill.”
Our frequent commenter, EASTERNER, should be able to help out if you don’t get this.
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Comments & Discussion
Comments are closed for this post.
Sep 14, 2017, 9:17 pm
They are lowering the annual rate as a sort of rebate because prices have been stable or gone down, and we have paid a stable or increasing rate.
Our monthly billing is being increased, for the cost of the billing, because some customers took advantage of incentives.
This may be akin to the future, wherein if I can afford less water to drink I will pee less and incur less sewer.
I can afford to heat less, so I heat less, and demand decreases. Incentives or rebates however are still costs, and they are born by those who conserve.
The local natural gas company is not such a bad provider. FERC helps a lot, and if or when you lose regulation, hold on to you old Statesman newspapers to burn for heat.
Sep 15, 2017, 10:04 am
Look at nighttime picture of North Dakota and west Texas from space. All that yellow light is from gas flares. Gas that could be used for heat, electricity, and transportation. And it’s very very clean burning to boot. Our politicos are controlled by the OIL corporations and just don’t want to make the effort to use that gas.
Sep 15, 2017, 10:37 am
LOL.
🙂
Sep 15, 2017, 3:10 pm
Think I get It
Who takes the statesman?
Sep 16, 2017, 6:52 pm
Us folks in Idaho City don’t understand this new math. But only if the state would let us have low stakes gambling I think we would.
Sep 19, 2017, 11:08 am
So when is a rate decrease really an increase?
I do think there is a way for Intermountain Gas and Idaho Power to save money. That would be to make billing electronic. Those who still want a paper bill and to pay via snail mail get charged a nominal fee for this overburden in the age of electronic payment options. I use bill pay on my Wells Fargo checking account to pay both gas and electricity.
Think about all the waste involved in paper bills and the costs of handling snail mail payments. It has to cost millions over a year of sending out these bills.
Sep 21, 2017, 7:19 pm
The natural gas index actually decreased this month about 1.4, I think. Global warming just makes the demand lower. And there is ample supply.
The increases pay for Easterner’s extra apartment.
EDITOR NOTE: Word on the street has it that Easterner’s apartment is used only when his wife cannot tolerate his obsession with monitoring the GUARDIAN and readers.