Saying the utility hasn’t faced the scrutiny of a general rate case in 16 years, the Oregon Public Utility Commission Tuesday launched a rate case proceeding for the state’s smallest private-sector natural gas utility, Seattle-based Cascade Natural Gas Co. The PUC said it was taking the action to determine if the utility’s rates are too high for its 51,049 customers in Oregon.

Following an audit of the utility, the Oregon PUC staff concluded it “should be brought in for a general rate case because it has consistently had excessive earnings for the past several years, and without a rate reduction, these over-earnings would likely continue,” a PUC spokesperson said in announcing the three-member regulatory commission’s action.

Based on preliminary review, the PUC staff said it thinks Cascade’s retail natural gas utility rates could be cut by 3.3%, or about $2.3 million annually. The upcoming PUC proceeding will be similar to a general rate case with a schedule to be set by an administrative law judge, however, a key difference, the PUC spokesperson said, is the burden of proof will be on the regulatory staff as opposed to it being on the utility in a traditional company-initiated general rate case.

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