DENVER — The Public Utilities Commission (PUC) will conduct a remote public comment hearing on Thursday, April 1, on a request by Black Hills Colorado Gas Inc. for accelerated recovery of gas pipeline safety improvement costs.
The public comment hearing will begin at 4 p.m. and last until concluded, but no later than 6 p.m. Individuals who wish to provide public comments during the hearing may do so either by telephone or computer but should first sign up on the Sign Up Sheet for Proceeding No. 20A-0379G. The public comment hearing will be held via Zoom and instructions to log in can be found on the PUC calendar or at this link.
Black Hills filed an application for approval of a System Safety and Integrity Rider (SSIR) on Sept. 11. The company seeks authorization to implement the SSIR for five years to recover the costs associated with investments for accelerated replacement of higher risk pipe and to improve system data management. Black Hills also seeks authorization to perform the proposed relocation of at-risk meters and the replacement of associated customer owned yard lines.
The SSIR projects would be funded by increasing certain customers’ bills via a monthly rider. The impact to a customer’s bill would depend on the rate area in which a customer resides and the amount of natural gas a customer consumes. Because Black Hills’ proposed SSIR program only applies to Rate Areas 2 and 3, approval of the company’s proposal would not increase the rates of customers residing in Rate Area 1.
For typical residential customers in Rate Area 2, the proposal is estimated to increase monthly bills by approximately $0.64 in 2021 up to approximately $9.83 in 2025. Residential customers in Rate Area 3 are projected to see increases of approximately $0.26 a month in 2021 up to approximately $4.24 a month in 2025.
In addition to the public comment hearing, members of the public also may submit written comments about the proposal by using the PUC’s on-line comment form at https://puc.colorado.gov/puccomments under proceeding 20A-0379G.
###
About the PUC
The Colorado Public Utilities Commission (PUC) serves the public interest by effectively regulating utilities and facilities so that the people of Colorado receive safe, reliable, and reasonably-priced services consistent with the economic, environmental and social values of our state.