Black Hills Energy files consolidated rate review proposal in Colorado
Black Hills Energy recently submitted a regulatory rate review proposal to the Colorado Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) to consolidate the rates, tariffs and services of its existing gas territories in Colorado as well as to recover investments in safety, reliability and system integrity for natural gas service to its Colorado customers.
The company is proposing to consolidate its three existing base rate areas and consolidate its even existing Gas Cost Adjustment (GCA) areas into three GCA regions. The rate review also requests $2.5 million in new revenue to recover investments.
“Black Hills Energy is committed to being the energy partner of choice for our Colorado communities and customers–a commitment we’ve demonstrated through investments in our infrastructure and in our communities,” Susan Bailey, vice president of natural gas operations for Black Hills Energy in Colorado, said. “By aligning our policies and services across all of Colorado, we will be able to provide an even higher level of service and reliability to our natural gas customers.”
If the proposal is approved, some residential customer bills will decrease, while others will increase. Bills for commercial customers will increase by varying amounts according to rate class, load factors, and total usage.
The rate review will not affect the cost of the natural gas delivered by Black Hills Energy, as the natural gas commodity cost is a direct pass-through to customers.
“The proposed change in our service rates will enable us to continue our investments in people and infrastructure, meet the needs of a growing system, and continue our commitment to reliability and safety that our customers have come to expect,” Bailey said.
If approved, the new natural gas service delivery rates will take effect in late 2019.
Over the past year, Black Hills has worked to consolidate its gas utility operations in each of the three states, Colorado, Nebraska and Wyoming, where it owns multiple gas utilities. In 2018, the company filed a request with the CPUC to combined its two Colorado gas utilities into a new company called Black Hills Colorado Gas. The request was approved in October, and the combination was completed in December. This consolidated rate review proposal is the next step in the company’s simplification process for Colorado.
“This consolidated rate review filing is an important step toward simplifying how we operate our natural gas utilities in Colorado,” Linn Evans, president and CEO of Black Hills Corp, said. “This effort, if approved, will improve customer service and safety and reduce the complexity and number of rate reviews and other regulatory filings.”
