Intermountain Gas requests another big rate increase. What customers should know
Intermountain Gas customers in Idaho may see another increase on their gas bill come February.
The Boise-based company filed a request with the Idaho Public Utilities Commission on Tuesday to raise its rates for natural gas services by 16.6% for residential customers and 17.9% for commercial customers.
The increase, if approved, would take effect Feb. 1. Residential customers would see an average increase of $8.58 on their monthly bills and commercial customers an increase of $43.10.
Intermountain Gas cited a major hike in the commodity price of natural gas over the last several months as the main reason for the request. The company also noted its earnings would not increase because of the filing.
“The rebounding economy, a slow ramp-up of drilling activity and limited natural gas pipeline capacity are factors in increased commodity prices,” Scott Madison, executive vice president of business development and gas supply for Intermountain Gas, said in a news release.
The company typically files a purchased-gas adjustment application annually to keep with fluctuating prices.
The PUC already approved a mid-year increase in rates July 29, which took effect Aug. 1, at the request of Intermountain Gas. It raised the price of natural gas services by 24.1%, or $10.55 per month, for residential customers and 27%, or $51.87 per month, for commercial customers.
The bulk of the increase this time around stems from the weighted average cost of gas, the price of which is calculated per therm. A therm is a measurement of heat energy in gas.
Laura Lueder, spokesperson for Intermountain Gas, told the Idaho Statesman by phone Thursday that a typical residential customer uses 60-65 therms per month on average. Natural gas usage is higher in the winter months and lower in the summer months.
Based on current rates, the average monthly bill for residential customers is about $52 per month, Lueder said.
She said that in addition to the rate change in August, the company also filed a request to decrease rates that took effect Oct. 1. The reduction was about 2.5%, or $1.36 per month, for residential customers.
If the company’s latest request is approved by the PUC, it would mean a combined average increase of $17.77 per month for residential customers over a year ago.
“All of that is due to higher natural gas commodity prices,” Lueder said. “It is a straight pass-through of the price of natural gas on the market.”
If the application to change prices was left until later next year, according to Intermountain Gas, the monthly increase for customers would likely be even steeper.
The company said in the news release that it would not benefit financially from the proposed price increase.
Lueder said the purchased cost of natural gas is only a portion of the monthly bill homeowners and businesses receive. The rest pays for distribution and the cost of maintaining the network. Intermountain Gas serves about 404,800 residential, commercial and industrial customers in Southern Idaho.
This story was originally published December 29, 2022 at 3:22 PM.
