Equitable Gas Files to Implement Purchase of Receivables Program

Equitable Gas Company, LLC has filed at the Pennsylvania PUC to implement a Purchase of Receivables program.

POR service would be available to Pool Administrators providing service to non-Customer Assistance Program accounts for residential and small commercial and industrial customers served under Rate Schedule FDS, and Rate Schedule FPS with annual consumption of 300 Mcf or less, whose receivables are only for commodity charges for basic natural gas supply services. The term "basic natural gas supply services" shall include charges directly related to the physical delivery of natural gas to retail customers.

Customer accounts that are billed for non-basic natural gas supply services will not be eligible for the POR program.

In order for a Pool Administrator to take POR service for a particular customer class (residential, or small commercial), the Pool Administrator must place all eligible accounts in that class on POR service. In other words, a Pool Administrator may elect POR for residential customers and not elect POR for small commercial customers, and in such case the Pool Administrator would be required to include all eligible residential accounts in POR, and none of the Pool Administrator's small commercial accounts could be placed on POR.

Notably, in order for a Pool Administrator to take POR service for a customer class, all eligible customers in that class served by the Pool Administrator and any affiliate of a Pool Administrator must participate in the POR program. The term "affiliate" is not defined in the tariff or consolidated billing and POR agreement.

If the Pool Administrator does not elect POR, the Pool Administrator could still use utility consolidated billing without POR.

Additionally, a Pool Administrator would only be permitted to opt into or out of the POR program on an annual basis.

The POR discount rate for residential customers would be 1.7946%. The commercial and industrial POR discount rate would be 0.4776%.

Additionally, for consolidated billing service, the Pool Administrator shall pay $0.30 per bill for each bill rendered by Equitable.

The POR program will exclude any past due amounts due to the Pool Administrator from customers from previously issued utility consolidated bills. Moreover, such past due amounts at the time of POR program start-up will not be included on Equitable consolidated bills going forward, and collections of those amounts will be the sole responsibility of the Pool Administrator.

Customers under budget billing can be included in the POR program, and Equitable will purchase charges associated with actual usage (versus budget amounts), less the POR discount.

Under the consolidated billing agreement, the Pool Administrator must agree to provide Equitable with copies of any mailings or advertisements having to do with billed rates or prices that will reach more than 1,000 customers or potential customers at least two weeks in advance.

The request to implement POR was included in tariff filings by Equitable proposing three options to address volatility and an upward trend in its system average Btu content, which correlates to the increased flow of Marcellus Shale gas on its system. These three revenue neutral options are (1) monthly tariff filings adjusting Equitable tariff rate as a result of changes in natural gas heating values (Equitable's preferred option); (2) applying a Heat Value Correction Factor to metered sales volumes; or (3) a conversion to dekatherm billing (from the current volumetric billing)

The dockets are R-2012-2304727 et. al.