The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PUC) on Monday announced a series of 10 late-March and early-April in-person and telephonic hearings to gather public input about the $99.368 million (8.05%) natural gas distribution rate increase request filed by UGI Utilities Inc. – Gas Division (UGI).
UGI provides natural gas distribution services to approximately 690,000 residential, commercial, and industrial customers in 46 counties across Pennsylvania.
PUC Administrative Law Judges F. Joseph Brady and Alphonso Arnold III will preside over the hearings.
Luzerne County
• Wednesday, April 1 — Luzerne County
• Hearing No. 1 will begin at 1 p.m.
• Hearing No. 2 will begin at 6 p.m.
• Site: Wilkes-Barre Township Fire Department
• Fire Hall 188, 152 Watson St., Wilkes-Barre Township
Telephonic public input hearings
Call-in telephonic public input hearings will be held on Friday, April 3.
• Hearing #1 will begin at 1 p.m.
• Hearing #2 will begin at 6 p.m.
• Note: Pre-registration for the telephonic hearings is encouraged by April 2.
To participate in the telephonic hearing, callers must do the following:
• Dial the toll-free Conference number — 1-877-874-1047
• Enter the PIN number when instructed — 11738422
• Speak your name when prompted, and press #.
• Then, the telephone system will connect you to the hearing.
To testify at a telephonic public input hearing, you are encouraged to pre-register by 10 a.m. on Thursday, April 2.
Call PUC Legal Assistant Pamela McNeal’s office phone at 215-560-4228 or by email at [email protected] and provide the following information:
• Your first and last name.
• The phone number you will be using to call into the public input hearing.
• A phone number where you can be reached prior to the hearing if it is necessary to contact you.
• Your email address, if you have one.
Failure to pre-register for a telephonic public input hearing could result in you not being called to testify by the PUC Judge.
If you need assistance pre-registering to testify, you may have someone register for you, but they will need to provide all the information listed above.
Additionally, if more than one person in your household would like to testify, one person may pre-register for other individuals in the same household by providing the PUC Judges’ Legal Assistant with the above-listed information for each individual.
Requests for Interpreters
If you require an interpreter, please pre-register as soon as possible. If you register too close to the hearing date, there may not be enough time to arrange for an interpreter.
If you request an interpreter, the PUC will make reasonable efforts to have one present.
TTY-based Telecommunications Relay Service number for those who are deaf or hearing-impaired is 711.
Hearing exhibits
If you have any hearing exhibits to which you will refer during the hearing, please email them to the Legal Assistant at [email protected]. The PUC Judge will forward your exhibits to all the parties.
Exhibits for any in-person public input hearing must be received by the Legal Assistant by 10 a.m. the day prior to the date of the public input hearing that you intend on testifying at.
Exhibits for the telephonic public input hearings must be received by the Legal Assistant by 10 a.m. on Thursday, April 2.
Questions
The Pennsylvania Office of Consumer Advocate (OCA) represents the interests of utility customers before the PUC. If you have questions about the public input hearings or the Company’s application, contact the OCA toll-free at 1-800-684-6560 or by email at [email protected].
Offering testimony at a public input hearing
The PUC offers tips on how to participate in a public input hearing, including:
• Prepare what you are going to say beforehand. Even though it is not required, you may want to write out your statement, which can be read.
• Any formal testimony that is offered during the hearing will become part of the record on which the PUC will issue its final decision.
• Understand that parties in the case may want to ask you a question to clarify something you said.
About the UGI Rate Increase Request
On Jan. 28, UGI filed a request to increase annual operating revenues for natural gas distribution service of approximately $99.368 million (8.05%).
On Feb. 19, the PUC formally suspended the proposed rate change to allow for a full investigation into the lawfulness, justness, and reasonableness of the proposed rates, as well as UGI’s existing rates, rules, and regulations.
Under the proposal, the average monthly bill for a residential customer using 68.7 hundred cubic feet (Ccf) of natural gas would increase from $113.64 to $123.55 per month (8.7%).
A final PUC decision is due by Oct. 29.