Columbia Gas Files to Unbundle Supply Costs, Updates POR Discount

In a recently filed rate case at the Pennsylvania PUC, Columbia Gas of Pennsylvania has filed a proposed tariff to implement a bypassable Gas Procurement Charge, a mechanism required by the PUC to unbundle certain supply costs from base rates.

Specifically, the Gas Procurement Charge is proposed to be $0.00144 per therm.

This reflects approximately $465,000 in supply costs related to accounting support, gas supply support, legal support, and regulatory support, recovered over a projected sales service volume of 323 million therms.

With the Gas Procurement Charge, the bypassable Price to Compare will consist of the quarterly Purchase Gas Commodity Cost (PGCC), including the E-factor, plus the Off System Sales Credit, plus the Capacity Release Credit, plus the Choice Credit, plus the Uncollectible Expense on Gas Costs (now labeled as the Merchant Function Charge), and the Gas Procurement Charge.

Additionally, Columbia would update the uncollectible expense ratio to 1.458%.

This figure will serve as the Purchase of Receivables discount (and will be the sole component of the discount), and will be used to calculate the MFC.

The current uncollectible expense ratio is 1.52%.

The updated POR tariff also strikes language calling for an administrative adder to the discount rate, consistent with Columbia's completion of recovery of costs incurred to establish the POR program. Columbia had ceased charging the administrative adder at the end of last year

Columbia also proposed to implement two retail market enhancements, under which Columbia proposes to provide a date and time stamp confirmation for every file submitted by natural gas suppliers, and to provide for the daily processing of customer rate code changes.

The daily processing of customer rate code changes will allow suppliers' rate changes to become effective on the respective customer's next bill.

Docket: R-2012-2321748