(a) A small gas utility seeking recovery of
purchased gas costs under
66 Pa.C.S. §
1307(a) or
(b) (relating to sliding scale of rates;
adjustments) shall comply with the following procedures:
(1) Gas cost rate (GCR) tariffs filed by
small gas utilities for the purpose of recovery of gas costs under
66 Pa.C.S. §
1307 include
the following schedules:
(i) Schedule 1:
Calculation of the GCR.
(ii)
Schedule 2: Projected Supply and Sales Volumes.
(iii) Schedule 3: Projected Supplier
Rates.
(iv) Schedule 4: Calculated
Projected Gas Cost.
(v) Schedule 5:
Summary of E-Factor.
(vi) Schedule
6: 1307(e) Statement of Over/Under Collections.
(vii) Schedule 7: Actual Supply
Volumes.
(viii) Schedule 8: Actual
Supply Rates.
(ix) Schedule 9:
Actual Supply Costs.
(x) Schedule
10: Reconciliation of E-Factor.
(xi) Schedule 11: Effect of Rate Changes on
Residential Customer.
(2)
A small gas utility seeking recovery of its gas costs under
66 Pa.C.S. §
1307(a) or
(b) shall annually submit a preliminary and a
final GCR filing to the Commission to be effective November 1, with notice to
the public at the time of its initial filing as required under §
53.68 (relating to notice
requirements). The preliminary filing is to be made by September 2, and shall
contain as much actual data as is then available. The final filing shall be
made on October 2 and shall contain actual data and any updates or corrections
to the data contained in the initial filing. Both the preliminary and the final
filings shall be based on forecasted costs for the subsequent 12-month period
ending August 31. The GCR computation is to follow a formula designated by the
Commission. Upon Commission approval, a tariff shall be filed reflecting rates
as approved.
(3) The provision of
information required by this section does not preclude use of discovery to
obtain additional information.
(4)
No GCR rates are to be implemented without express prior Commission approval.
The approval shall constitute only tentative approval for collection of the GCR
charges from ratepayers and not a final approval of the as yet unaudited
projections of the utility, which have not yet been subjected to scrutiny
concerning the reasonableness of underlying transactions.
(5) Utilities have the burden of pursuing a
least cost purchasing policy consistent with
66 Pa.C.S. §
§
1316 and
1317 (relating to recovery
of advertising expenses; and regulation of natural gas costs) and shall be
accountable for failure to comply with these standards and those of
66 Pa.C.S. §
1301
(relating to rates to be just and reasonable).
(b) In addition to the statements and
supporting data filed as required under
66 Pa.C.S. §
1307(e), small gas utilities
shall file the information and data as may be required by the Bureau of Audits
or other bureau as the Commission may direct. Both the preliminary and the
final filing shall be served upon the Office of Consumer Advocate, the Bureau
of Investigation and Enforcement, and the Office of Small Business Advocate and
shall be provided to intervenors, upon request. This evidence will be
considered by the Commission in formulating its audit review under
66 Pa.C.S. §
1307(d) or in other
proceedings as described in subsection (c) and may be supplemented by
submissions from interested persons. The audit under
66 Pa.C.S. §
1307(d) and the review of
procurement policies will not be the subject of the Commission's statutorily
required reconciliation hearings under
66 Pa.C.S. §
1307(e), which are governed
by strict time limits.
(c) Small
gas utilities shall file a reconciliation statement under
66 Pa.C.S. §
1307(e) for the 12-month
period running from September 1 through August 31 by October 1. Questions on
the underlying propriety of a utility's procurement policies, and the like, can
be raised in a separately docketed complaint proceeding filed by a party, by
Commission investigation or in a proceeding arising from audit findings under
66 Pa.C.S. §
1307(d).
(d) Overcollections are subject to refund
with interest applied at the prime rate for commercial borrowing.
Undercollections may be recovered from ratepayers. When undercollections are
recovered, interest shall be applied at the prime rate for commercial
borrowing. Adjustments to the E-Factor for correction of prior reported
over/under collections or as recommended by the Bureau of Audits may include
interest. Unless directed otherwise by the Commission, the adjustment for
interest is the difference between the amount of interest originally reported
on the applicable over/under collection and the amount of interest applicable
to the adjusted over/under collection.
(e) Utilities recovering fuel costs under the
GCR shall state the following information about fuel costs on customer's bills:
"This bill includes
per MCF which is our average cost of gas acquired for
your use."
The cost of gas shall be calculated exclusive of taxes
and current base costs-nonfuel costs. The cost of gas must include the direct
costs paid by the natural gas distribution company for the purchase and
delivery of natural gas to its system to supply its customers. The GCR must
include 100% of the gas costs and be shown as a separate line item on the
customer bill. Gas costs included in the GCR are subject to refund and
reconciliation under
66 Pa.C.S. §
1307(e). The E-Factor of Gas
Adjustment Charge is a mechanism to refund or recoup over/under collected
amounts under
66 Pa.C.S. §
1307(e). The E-Factor rate
or Gas Adjustment Charge may be combined with the GCR or shown as a separate
rate.
(f) Small gas
utilities shall pay interest on pipeline refunds from the time received until
disbursed at a 6% annual interest rate. The refunds are to be refunded through
recomputation of the E-factor of the GCR formula.
(g) Small gas utilities should monitor GCR
activity to avoid becoming materially over/under collected. In the event a
small gas utility anticipates a material over/under collection that would
result in a change in the current GCR greater than 2%, the small gas utility
may submit an interim GCR tariff filing to become effective, unless otherwise
provided for in its tariff, on 10 days' notice. The interim filing shall be
subject to audit in accordance with
66 Pa.C.S. §
1307(d).
Notes
The
provisions of this § 53.66 adopted February 22, 1985, effective
2/23/1985, 15 Pa.B. 672; amended
April 14, 1995, effective 6/14/1995, 25 Pa.B. 1411; amended January 22,
2016, effective 1/23/2016, 46
Pa.B. 449.
The provisions of this § 53.66 amended under the Public
Utility Code,
66 Pa.C.S. §
§
501,
504,
1301,
1304,
1307,
1317,
1318 and
1501.
This section cited in 52 Pa. Code §
53.61 (relating to purpose); 52
Pa. Code §
53.63 (relating to categories of
gas utilities); and 52 Pa. Code §
53.64 (relating to filing
requirements for natural gas distributors with gross intrastate annual
operating revenues in excess of $40
million).
