170926 Intermountain PGA.pdf

Case No: INT-G--17-05
Order No. 33887 Final Order
Contact: Matt Evans
[phone] office
[phone] cell
www.puc.idaho.gov

Residential, commercial customers of
Intermountain Gas to see rate decrease tied to
natural gas costs, slight increase for others

BOISE (Sept. 26, 2017) – Rates for Intermountain Gas’ residential and commercial customers will
decrease on Oct. 1 due to a change to the company’s annual Purchased Gas Cost Adjustment (PGA).
The monthly bill for the average residential customer will drop by $3.32, according to the company,
which serves approximately 335,000 customers across southern Idaho.
Commercial customers will see an average decrease of $16.42 per month, while two customer
classes – large volume and transportation – will see a slight rate increase.
The PGA is modified each fall in order to reflect changes in Intermountain’s costs, passing through
to customers any changes in expenses related to the purchase, delivery and storage of natural gas.
A number of factors played a role in the change to the PGA that was approved by the Idaho Public
Utilities Commission, including robust supplies of natural gas, significant storage balances and the
company’s management of its storage assets.
The change is expected to decrease Intermountain’s revenues by $19.25 million over the next year
but does not impact the company’s earnings.
In addition to reflecting the cost of providing natural gas to its customers, the company requested
Commission approval to recover $699,114 in expenses incurred for auditing and consultation from
third parties during its recently resolved rate case.
The Commission approved the recovery via the PGA of $378,614 over five years, or $75,723 per
year. It did not disallow the recovery of the balance of the expenses but said the prudency of the
remaining $319,963 had not been determined. Those expenses will be considered during the
company’s next general rate case.
The company’s applications and other documents are available for review on the Commission’s
website, www.puc.idaho.gov. Under the “Natural Gas” heading, click on “Open Cases” and scroll
down to INT-G-17-05. Or go here.