Atlanta

Atlanta Gas Light Co. (AGL) reached an agreement with theGeorgia Public Service Commission (GPSC) Wednesday to return to itspre-deregulation billing methods, avoiding a Feb. 3 Commissionhearing intended to charge the utility with disregarding marketconstraints in its rate-charging practices. The utility also agreedto refund $14.5 million to overcharged customers. The reformedbills and the refunds will be sent out in February.

Atlanta Gas Light Co. (AGL) responded harshly yesterday to a report filed Tuesday by members of the Georgia Public Service Commission (GPSC) adversary staff, heating up an already steamy debate over AGL’s rates.

Atlanta Gas Light Co. (AGL) will be the first to say that warmweather and fixed prices can cause trouble. In a situation that hascaught the eye of Georgia’s Public Service Commission (PSC), AGL’snew unregulated billing has enraged hundreds of customers who,because of warm weather, have not used much gas, but still receivedwinter-like gas bills. The public outcry caused the PSC to schedulea vote on Jan. 5 to determine whether a hearing should be held toexamine re-regulating the state’s gas industry. If the commissiondecides a hearing is necessary, it will be held Jan. 26 with adecision to come shortly thereafter.

Atlanta Gas Light Co. (AGL) will be the first to say that warmweather and fixed prices can cause trouble. In a situation that hascaught the eye of Georgia’s Public Service Commission (PSC), AGL’snew unregulated rates have enraged hundreds of customers who,because of warm weather, have not used much gas, but still receivedwinter-like gas bills. The public outcry caused the PSC to schedulea vote on Jan. 5 to determine whether a hearing should be held toexamine re-regulating the state’s gas industry. If the commissiondecides a hearing is necessary, it will be held Jan. 26 with adecision to come shortly thereafter.

Due to hundreds of customer complaints that Atlanta Gas Light(AGL) is over-billing, Georgia’s Public Service Commission (PSC)will vote on Jan. 5 to determine whether a hearing should be heldto examine re-regulating the state’s gas industry, the PSC toldNGI. If the commission decides a hearing is necessary, it will beheld Jan. 26 with a decision to come shortly thereafter.

AGL Resources is capitalizing on the experience gained in theprecedent-setting unbundling of its Atlanta Gas Light subsidiary,organizing a separate partnership to offer all the services acompany will need to move into the competitive market.

Only five of a possible 19 marketers are making deliveries toabout 16,000 out of 1.4 million customers of Atlanta Gas Light thismonth, but it’s a start in the LDC’s state-approved plan to workits way out of the regulated merchant business.

Atlanta-based Southern Co. has joined a collaborative effort of20 companies to create the largest survey of business energy use.Southern, the Regional Economic Research (RER), Opinion DynamicsCorp. and the Gas Research Institute plan to survey more than10,000 businesses across the U.S. to obtain detailed information onenergy usage as well as attitudes and behavior of energy buyers.The database and analysis system, called the National BusinessEnergy DataMart, will be packaged with software that providesdetailed analysis down to the individual customer level. Resultsare expected to be available next February.

A last-minute protest by Scana Energy Marketing to a requestedwaiver by Atlanta Gas Light to allow assignment of some of itsupstream pipeline capacity as part of the Georgia unbundling planmay have been a factor in derailing FERC action last week.