Chattanooga Gas Co. (CGC), which serves 60,000 customers in southeast Tennessee, has asked the Tennessee Regulatory Authority (TRA) to adjust its rates beginning in March to cover rising costs of providing natural gas to its customers. CGC last increased its rates nine years ago. If the rate hike is approved, a typical residential customer would pay about $3.20 more per month. The total rate increase requested is approximately $4.5 million. However, a reduction in gas costs of over $1 million dollars will be put into effect in the spring of 2004; this change will reduce the amounts charged for gas on customers’ bills. CGC’s new proposed rate plan will provide relief to low-income elderly customers and align customer rates to more accurately reflect CGC’s costs of maintaining its natural gas pipeline system. It will also enable the company to replace 100 miles of aging pipe, consistent with CGC’s goal of continually modernizing the gas infrastructure that has served customers for almost a century. Lindsey cited other pressures that have lead to CGC’s decision to request a rate adjustment, including growing employee benefits costs and bad debt, or uncollectible customer bills. CGC also asked the TRA to approve a cost tracking mechanism for additional expenditures to permit the replacement of a 100-mile segment of its over 1400-mile pipeline system. Some of the pipeline is almost 100 years old and needs to be replaced. Construction is expected to begin during 2004.
Serves
Articles from Serves
Dominion Tries to Douse FERC Concerns About Greenbrier Pipe
Responding to FERC’s concerns that key customers may back out of its Greenbrier Pipeline project, Dominion Transmission Inc. reported to the agency Thursday that approximately 90% of the transportation capacity to be created by the proposed natural gas pipeline has been subscribed by power generators and local distribution companies (LDCs), a company spokesman said.
Dominion Tries to Douse FERC Concerns About Greenbrier Pipe
Responding to FERC’s concerns that key customers may back out of its Greenbrier Pipeline project, Dominion Transmission Inc. reported to the agency Thursday that approximately 90% of the transportation capacity to be created by the proposed natural gas pipeline has been subscribed by power generators and local distribution companies (LDCs), a company spokesman said.
Centrica Serves 3.7 Million in North America After Enbridge Services Purchase
Centrica North America completed its C$1 billion acquisition of Enbridge Services Inc. (ESI) from Calgary- based Enbridge Inc. The acquisition doubles Centrica’s Canadian customer base and brings its total North American customer count to 3.7 million, making it by far the largest retail marketer on the continent. The combined companies will employ more than 2,000 full-time people.
Aggregation to Save Ohio Gas Choice Users Up to $200
Acting on recent Ohio legislation aimed at making natural gas customer-choice programs in the state more “consumer-friendly,” the recently formed Northeast Ohio Public Energy Council (NOPEC), the nation’s largest public energy aggregated buying group, reported that it has entered into a one-year contract with Shell Energy for natural gas services to residents of the 95 NOPEC communities.
Dominion Serves Up Customized B2B Site
Dominion, which already had some trading appetizers on the table, is taking a bigger bite of the dotcom marketplace, announcing last week that its Dominion Energy Clearinghouse will offer a one-stop shop customized for its wholesale customers to price and buy energy commodities.
Dominion Serves Up Customized B2B Site
Dominion, which already had some trading appetizers on thetable, is taking a bigger bite of the dotcom marketplace,announcing yesterday that its Dominion Energy Clearinghouse willoffer a one-stop shop customized for its wholesale customers toprice and buy energy commodities.
Industry Briefs
WGL Holdings is the new the parent company of Washington GasLight Co., a regulated natural gas utility that serves over 875,000customers in Washington D.C., and other subsidiaries formerly underWashington Gas before this restructuring. “The creation of this newstructure strengthens our competitive position in the new energyera,” said James H. DeGraffenreidt, Jr., CEO of WGL Holdings. “Itprovides greater financial and regulatory flexibility and enhancesour ability to continue improving our utility operations andgrowing profitable energy-related retail businesses.”
Amerada Hess Buying Statoil Energy Services
Amerada Hess agreed to buy gas and power marketer Statoil EnergyServices Inc. of Alexandria, VA. Statoil serves industrial andcommercial customers, mainly in New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland,Virginia and Washington, D.C.
Commissioner Massey Serves and Stands and Waits
Some in the natural gas industry are growing increasingly uneasythat the re-appointment of William Massey to a second term at theFederal Energy Regulatory Commission appears to be stalled at theWhite House.
