4928102 Public Service Commission - Notice of Final Rulemaking - Gas Tariff 00-2, In the Matter of Washington Gas Light Company’s Rights-of-Way Surcharge General Regulations Tariff, P.S.C.-D.C. No. 3
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PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
NOTICE OF FINAL RULEMAKING
GAS TARIFF 00-2, IN THE MATTER OF WASHINGTON GAS LIGHT COMPANY’S RIGHTS-OF-WAY SURCHARGE GENERAL REGULATIONS TARIFF, P.S.C.-D.C.
No. 3
1. The Public Service Commission of the District of Columbia (Commission) hereby gives notice, pursuant to Section 34-802 of the District of Columbia Official Code and in accordance with Section 2-505 of the District of Columbia Official Code,[1] of its final rulemaking action taken in the above-captioned proceeding.[2] On May 30, 2014, the Commission released Order No. 17502, approving Washington Gas Light Company’s (WGL or the Company) Rights-of-Way Surcharge Update (“Surcharge Update”).[3]
2. On March 25, 2014, pursuant to D.C. Official Code Section 10-1141.06,[4] WGL filed a Surcharge Update for the Rights-of-Way (ROW) Current Factor.[5] The ROW Surcharge contains two components, the ROW Current Factor and the ROW Reconciliation Factor. In the tariff filing, WGL sets forth the process used to recover from its customers the ROW fees paid by WGL to the District of Columbia government in accordance with the following tariff page:
GENERAL SERVICES TARIFF, P.S.C.-D.C. No. 3
Section 22
3rd Revised Page 56
3. According to its tariff, WGL’s surcharge rate for the ROW Current Factor would become effective commencing with the April 2014 billing cycle.[6] WGL’s Surcharge Update shows that the ROW Current Factor is 0.0317. When the ROW Current Factor is combined with the ROW Reconciliation Factor of (0.0051) for the prior period, it yields a net factor of 0.0266.[7] Based on our review of the Surcharge Update, the Commission finds that WGL’s calculations for the ROW Current Factor and the Surcharge Update comply with General Services Tariff, P.S.C. No. 3, Section 22, 3rd Revised Page No. 56.
4. A Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NOPR) regarding WGL’s Surcharge Filing was published in the D.C. Register on April 11, 2014.[8] In the NOPR, the Commission stated that WGL has a statutory right to implement its filed surcharges however, if the Commission discovers any inaccuracies in the calculation of the proposed surcharge rate, WGL could be subject to reconciliation of the surcharge. No comments were filed in response to the NOPR and the Commission is satisfied that the surcharge proposed by WGL complies with D.C. Code §10-1141.06. Consequently, the Commission approved WGL’s Surcharge Update by Order No. 17502.
[2] 61 DCR 4180 (April 25, 2014). On May 16, 2014, the Commission announced a change in the nomenclature used to give public notice of its processing of applications for tariff changes from “Notice of Proposed Rulemaking” and “Notice of Final Rulemaking” to “Notice of Proposed Tariff” and “Notice of Approved Tariff,” respectively. 61 DCR 5150 (May 16, 2014). The Commission is using the prior nomenclature for this matter because the prior nomenclature has been used since the commencement of the proceeding.
[3] GT00-2, In the Matter of Washington Gas Light Company’s Rights-of-Way Surcharge General Regulations Tariff, P.S.C.-D.C. No. 3, (GT00-2) Rights-of-Way Current Factor Surcharge Filing of Washington Gas Light Company (Surcharge Update), filed March 25, 2014.
[4] D.C. Official Code § 10-1141.06 (2001 ed.) states that, “Each public utility company regulated by the Public Service Commission shall recover from its utility customers all lease payments which it pays to the District of Columbia pursuant to this title through a surcharge mechanism applied to each unit of sale and the surcharge amount shall be separately stated on each customer’s monthly billing statement.”
[5] GT00-2, Surcharge Update at 1.
[6] Id.
[7] Id.; See also Order No. 17252, rel. September 29, 2013, where the Commission approved the Reconciliation Factor.
[8] 61 DCR 3844-3845 (April 11, 2014).
