Retail

The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PUC) said it is moving forward with the second phase of its investigation into the competitiveness of the state’s retail natural gas market.

Hess Corp. is selling its retail business, which includes more than 1,300 gasoline stations and convenience stores along the East Coast, to Marathon Petroleum Corp. (MPC) for $2.6 billion as part of its strategy to focus on E&P activities, the company said Thursday.

Total combined natural gas purchase and sales volumes were 123,868 TBtu (Bcf) in 2012, a 0.7% decline compared with 124,752 TBtu in 2011, according to an analysis by NGI’s Shale Daily of 2012 Form 552 buyer and seller filings with FERC.

Dominion Resources Inc. announced Monday that it plans to close and decommission a nuclear power plant in Wisconsin next year, a decision the company said was made in part due to continuing low natural gas prices.

The first of a two-part rate decrease kicked in Monday in Idaho for Intermountain Gas Co., its sixth consecutive natural gas utility retail rate decrease, according to the Idaho Public Utilities Commission (PUC). The second part of the rate reduction comes in December in the form of a one-time bill credit, the PUC said. Combined, the adjustments result in a decrease of 7.1% for the average Intermountain residential customer. The reductions represent nearly $18 million in lower costs for the Boise, ID-based gas utility: $6 million in wholesale gas cost reductions and $11.9 million in the one-time credit from differences in the annual purchased cost projections and the weighted average cost of gas (WACOG). With the latest adjustments, the WACOG drops from 41.8 cents/therm to 33.5 cents/therm, the PUC said, the lowest it has been in 10 years.

Oregon regulators extended for another 12 months the same portfolio of retail energy options for private-sector natural gas and electric utility customers throughout the state. The Oregon Public Utility Commission (PUC) followed the recommendation of a third-party options committee in letting stand current programs for residential and nonresidential customers of NW Natural, PacifiCorp and Portland General Electric Co. The programs are designed to give utility customers options for supporting alternative energy development. Customers will continue to be able to voluntarily participate in NW Natural’s greenhouse gas emissions offset program and the two electric utilities’ offers for time-of-use, green source and wind power sources.

Portland, OR-based NW Natural retail residential and commercial/industrial customers will share in a $35 million one-time credit on their utility bills in June, resulting from the continuing drop in wholesale natural gas prices. The Oregon Public Utility Commission (PUC) approved credits that will average $36.58 for residential customers and will range from $714 to $20,000 for industrial customers. The utility asked the PUC to approve the credit as a way of passing along lower gas price savings accumulated from Nov. 1, 2011 through March 31. State regulators also indicated that there may be another credit stemming from lower gas costs in the second quarter. In addition, the PUC approved a separate $3.1 million credit for storage and transportation activities that will further reduce the average residential customer’s June bill by nearly $10.

Colorado lawmakers have passed HB 1258 by a vote of 95-3. The legislation would make it easier for retail outlets to provide natural gas, propane and electric vehicle fueling. The bill, which was sent to Gov. John Hickenlooper, who is expected to sign it in May, would allow retailers to sell the three alternative vehicle fuels without Colorado Public Utilities Commission (PUC) scrutiny. Electric vehicle recharging and liquefied natural gas fueling fell under PUC oversight; however, the other two fuels (compressed natural gas and propane) did not.

Spokane, WA-based Avista Utilities’ retail natural gas rates for residential customers in Ohio dropped about 5.7% as the result of periodic adjustments for changes in wholesale gas prices. The tariff was decreased from 41.8 cents/therm to 36.2 cents/therm, based on the changes approved earlier by the Idaho Public Utilities Commission (PUC), providing a decrease of about $3.46 on the average residential customer’s monthly bill. Large commercial customer rates decreased by about 7.3%. Rates are adjusted by the PUC at least once a year based on a purchased gas cost adjustment mechanism, which has shown steady decreases in recent years with the continuing fall in wholesale gas prices.