Missouri PSC sets public hearings for Spire rate case

Andy Ostmeyer, The Joplin Globe, Mo.
·4 min read

Oct. 9—The Missouri Public Service Commission will hold public hearings soon regarding a natural gas rate case filed by Spire Missouri this spring.

In April, Spire filed a natural gas rate case with the Missouri PSC seeking a net increase in its natural gas revenues of approximately $151.9 million. About $8.5 million of that is already being collected under the Infrastructure System Replacement Surcharge that appears as a separate line item on customer bills, leaving an overall increase of $143.4 million.

The typical customer in western Missouri will see an increase of $10.95 per month, or 12.65%, if the rate request is approved in full, said Jason Merrill, spokesman for Spire.

A rate case typically takes 11 months.

Spire serves the city of Joplin and others in Southwest Missouri.

The PSC will hold an in-person local public hearing Oct. 12 in St. Louis and another Oct. 18 in Kansas City. That hearing will be at the Gregg/Klice Community Center, large meeting room, 1600 E. 17th Terrace. The hearing starts at 6 p.m. with an information and question-and-answer session conducted by the PSC staff, followed by testimony.

There also will be a virtual public hearing at noon on Oct. 13. To attend that by telephone, at the time of the hearing call toll-free 1-855-718-6621, listen to the prompt and enter the meeting number (2469 900 3915) followed by # (pound/hashtag). If prompted for a password, enter 0179.

To participate by video/internet, go to www.webex.com. You can also download the Cisco WebEx meetings application on a mobile device, laptop, desktop or tablet prior to the hearing and join the meeting at the hearing time by entering the corresponding access code and password listed above.

Anyone wishing to participate in the virtual local public hearing should sign up by sending their first and last name, phone number and email address to pscinfo@psc.mo.gov or by calling 1-800-392-4211 by 5 p.m.

Formal evidentiary hearings will be held in late November and December in Jefferson City before the PSC.

Non-gas case

This is a separate "non-gas" case, and reflects recovery for operating and maintenance costs as well as infrastructure investment. However, it does not include the cost of the natural gas itself.

Merrill said the company is allowed to file up to four times per year to adjust the cost of the gas in customers' bills, and a separate Purchase Gas Ajustment is expected to be filed later this month for that.

Every year, the utility also is allowed to pass through the cost of natural gas, which is only part of the bill. However, it is the largest part of the bill — between 50% and 55%.

The last PGA for Spire was Last November when the utility was approved for an increase of about $24.36 per month in the cost of gas, or 41.5%, for the typical natural gas residential customer, defined as someone an average of 60 to 65 ccf per month. A ccf is a hundred cubic feet of natural gas and a unit to measure usage.

"The gas is a straight pass through; it is not something we profit off of. The cost of natural gas has gone up throughout the Midwest and Missouri is no different. ... What we pay for the gas is what a customer pays for the gas," Merrill said.

In a statement, the PSC said the wholesale cost of natural gas is not regulated by the state, and that cost is "primarily driven by supply, demand and the weather." The PSC does conduct a review to make sure that regulated natural gas companies such as Spire make prudent decisions in securing natural gas supplies for their customers.

In a letter to the PSC dated Nov. 12, Scott Weitzel, managing director of regulatory and legislative affairs for Spire, said the PGA for Spire customers last fall represented the actual commodity costs for natural gas.

"This change in the cost of gas reflects the price increase that the gas market has experienced starting with winter storm Uri in February 2021," Weitzel said. "During this time, we saw unprecedented natural gas price spikes, with gas trading at $200-$600/MMBtu compared to normal prices in the $2-$6/MMBtu range."

An MMBtu represents 1 million British thermal units and is a way natural gas is measured for financial contracts.

Weitzel also wrote that in addition to the market spikes experienced in February 2021, when temperatures dropped to minus 15 degrees in Joplin and there were problems with natural gas delivery in parts of the Midwest, "there has been significant movement in the natural gas market nationally and internationally since last winter. Last winter market prices were set around $3.26/MMBtu. The market has moved up nearly 59% since last winter to $5.18/MMBtu.