US Court Overturns FERC OK of Cove Point LNG Expansion

So even though Washington Gas is responsible for their own system's problems, leakage and house explosions, Dominion won't be able to add needed natural gas capacity because Washington Gas can't address their own systems problems fast enough. Nice. Maybe FERC should make Washington Gas address their system in a reasonable amount of time...

A federal district court on July 18 overturned the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's approval of a proposed expansion of Dominion Resources' Cove Point LNG installation on the Chesapeake Bay in Cove Point, Md., just south of Baltimore. The US District Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia granted Washington Gas Light Co.'s petition for review despite finding that "substantial evidence supports FERC's conclusion that any threat of increased leakage is due to defects in WGL's system."

The court overturned the approval because it did not accept FERC's conclusion that the local distribution company, which serves Northern Virginia and Suburban Maryland as well as Washington, DC, can address safety concerns before the project's scheduled November in-service date. The commission did not support the conclusion with sufficient evidence, the court said.

WGL said in its petition that the project, which would significantly increase Cove Point's LNG output, would introduce more LNG into the utility's system. It said that for 2 years after it began receiving a limited amount of unblended LNG from Cove Point at WGL's facilities in Prince George's County, Md., leaks at the facilities increased 16-fold.

WGL also submitted a report to FERC finding the LNG's low- hydrocarbon content caused seals inside its pipe couplings to leak, the decision said. FERC concluded that the leaks occurred because WGL applied hot tar when it installed the pipes decades before.

"We do not dispute that WGL operated its system for decades after applying the hot tar and only experienced high leak rates after it began receiving LNG in PG County. But at the same time, the PG County facilities received LNG for months without experiencing significant leakage, and only suffered those leaks when the weather became cold," the decision said.

WGL said the coupling conditions that exist in PG County also exist in the other 86% of its system and that it would be a decade or longer to install replacements. While reinjecting he avy hydrocarbons into the LNG could stop some leaks, the efficacy of such measures was uncertain, it added.

FERC's finding that WGL had time to correct any remaining problems was not sufficient because it was based only on repairs in PG County and did not consider how the utility might repair the rest of the system once the expansion begins operations in a few more months, the court said.

Dominion is proceeding with the Cove Point expansion, a spokesman said on July 21. "In key respects, the court affirmed FERC's ruling and agreed with its decision, including finding that the leaks were results of defects in WGL's system, and Dominion should not have to pay repairs. We're confident that the expansion is safe and in the public interest. We also expect that FERC will act expeditiously so that the Cove Point expansion will proceed on schedule," he told OGJ.

Dominion Cove Point LNG LP's Cove Point LNG installation. Photo from Dominion.

Court: D.C. PSC can withhold utility revenue data

Too bad for transparency and what's best for consumers...

The D.C. Court of Appeals has ruled the D.C. Public Service Commission is not obligated to publish the locally generated revenues of large utilities such as Verizon, Pepco and Washington Gas Light Co.

The Office of the People's Counsel, a utility watchdog, had sued to force the release of the information, saying it was needed to determine if customers were entitled to a rebate under laws regulating fees. The commission argued the revenue data can be proprietary.

The decision doesn't necessarily end the litigation. Associate Judge Phyllis Thompson said in the legal opinion that the people's counsel can still file a Freedom of Information Act request for the data.

Washington Gas: Absurd

Arthur Delaney at the Washington City Paper's City Desk blog writes about how he's been receiving his neighbor's bill and he can't get Washington Gas to fix the problem.

Washington Gas is making bad service into a form of art. Since November, they’ve sent me two bills every month–one for me, and one with my name on it for the nice lady who lives in the apartment upstairs. She and I verified that it’s her gas bill by checking the meter numbers on the two bills and comparing them to the numbers on our meters. Right after I moved in, she says, Washington Gas sent her a refund check and discontinued her direct payment program. She was baffled.

I’ve explained the problem to Washington Gas call-takers five times. On Mar. 12, after several calls from me, my upstairs neighbor, and even the management company, Washington Gas sent a guy to check the meter numbers. He confirmed the mix-up. I figured that had to be the end of it, but yesterday, I received my neighbor’s bill once again. Like the last two, it says DISCONTINUANCE NOTICE on it. It’s for over $1,000 and there’s no way for her to pay it.

Washington Gas is just hell bent on sending me my poor neighbor’s bill. It’s Theatre of the Absurd over here. It’s like something from a play by Samuel Becket or Harold Pinter. It’s crazy! I explained the problem to a Washington Gas call-taker again yesterday–now I’m escalating the situation with public whining.

Gas meter misreading even more painful to fix

Dan Thanh Dang writes in the Baltimore Sun about how a small business owner was charge $14,000 over his normal bill and how it took almost three months to resolve.

"My previous month's reading on Dec. 22 was 88,085 therms," Le said. "On Jan. 22, the meter was reported to be 99,159 therms. ... The reading should have read 89,159. The technician misread the most significant digit from an 8 to a 9. It made perfect sense to me."

It made perfect sense to customer service rep Edwin, too, when Le explained the discrepancy. Edwin promised to send a revised bill, but two weeks later, nothing showed up. So Le got on the horn again and spoke with CSR Radi, who said that CSR Edwin did note the misreading in the case file, so Radi would send it.

A revised bill never came. So on Feb. 19, Le called once more. CSR Nelle told him there was nothing she could do. He just had to wait for his next reading.

On Feb. 22, the same technician arrived to read the bakery's meter. That same day, Le called WashGas again and this time CSR Johnny did something none of the other CSRs could do. He changed Le's first meter reading to 89,159, which would reflect the bakery's prior average use of about 1,103 therms per month.

That fix took care of things - but only temporarily. The problem got more absurd when Le promptly received a second January-February bill for $15,767.79, and a revised January bill for $1,435.98.

Le spent another month struggling to fix this problem himself. He tried sending WashGas digital photos of his meter, but was told there was no "customer service e-mail account" to receive it. He begged WashGas to scrap the prior readings and send a supervisor out to re-read his meter.

The company did send someone on March 3 - the same technician who misread the meter earlier.

"The hoops I have to jump through are just tremendous," Le said. "Once I convince customer service to correct my bill, the meter reader comes along and reports it incorrectly again so the problem continues. I don't know what else to do. I don't want to pay a bill that isn't right and I don't want my gas turned off."

In most cases, billing disputes with a utility fall under the Maryland Public Service Commission. When the PSC receives a billing complaint, it forwards it to the utility, which then must provide information back to the PSC on your account.

You have rights under the Code of Maryland Regulations. If you believe your meter is inaccurate, you may ask the utility to test your meter at no charge. You can also file a written request and a $10 fee to the PSC's engineering division for a "referee test," which sends reps from the PSC and utility out to test your meter. You get your money back if your meter is found to be inaccurate.

The PSC also says that in the event of a billing dispute, you are required to "pay the undisputed portion of your bill" while the agency or the utility is investigating the complaint.

Even though Le had not yet contacted the PSC, he did take all the proper steps to resolve this with the company.

I called WashGas on Le's behalf March 4. One day later, spokesman Ruben Rodriguez called back with a tidy resolution.

"We're sending a supervisor out there to read his meter," Rodriguez said. "His bill will be adjusted. He will not have to pay his $14,000 bill. It was a mistake on our part and we apologize for any inconvenience to Mr. Le."

The apology is a good step, but WashGas may want to re-examine why things got that far.

It's inexcusable that none of the people Le spoke to referred this obvious error to a supervisor. It's maddening that there was no consistency to customer service, permitting one rep to change a meter reading when another rep told him it was impossible. It's a shame no one told Le he could send his letter and photos to custsrv@washgas.com. And finally, it makes no sense to send the same technician a third time to read a meter after he apparently misread it twice.

Common sense and employee empowerment would have cleared this issue up in a timelier manner.

Le confirmed that a supervisor did show up March 5, but he's waiting for his next bill to make sure the fix is permanent.

"I'm going to keep an eye on it," Le said. "It's a big relief, but it's unfortunate that it took this long to correct this problem."

At least Le's blood pressure was going back down, much like his adjusted and far more acceptable $2,703.61 bill for January and February.

Residents support natural gas bill

In an article written by Maya T. Prabhu and appearing in a Gazette newspaper, it looks like the Chillum LNG facility may soon be as good as dead.

Chillum-area residents hope the General Assembly will pass a law that would protect their community, as well as neighborhoods throughout the county, from liquefied natural gas facilities that could be built near their homes.

Washington Gas owns a 21-acre site on Chillum Road near Queens Chapel Road, which is less than a block away from the West Hyattsville Metro station. At a House Economic Matters Committee meeting Monday, officials said the legislation, House Bill 1043, specifically targets that site. There is no liquefied natural gas facility on that site yet, but Washington Gas would like to build one. If the committee gives the bill a favorable report, it will move on to the House for consideration.

"[This bill] is written specifically to create a barrier for Washington Gas to gain approval to build an LNG storage facility at our Chillum property," said Steven Jumper, director of regional public policy for Washington Gas. "More importantly, this bill hinders our company in meeting our statutory obligation to the citizens and businesses of Maryland to provide safe and reliable supply to them at a reasonable cost."

But residents say the facility could potentially be unsafe to the surrounding communities if anything went wrong, and could potentially draw terrorists.

The bill, proposed by Del. Jolene Ivey (D-Dist. 47) of Cheverly and the Prince George’s County delegation, would require facilities to meet stricter standards for the placement. It would prohibit LNG facilities from being built in Prince George’s and require that the facility be outside an acceptable separation distance from any residence, calculated by U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development safety standards.

Washington Gas quietly installs minor rate hike

The DC Examiner brings to light Washington Gas's rate hike for Washington, D.C. residents.

A rate hike for Washington Gas’ 151,000 D.C. customers went into effect at 12:01 a.m. Monday, but the increases are so negligible most consumers probably won’t even notice a difference in their monthly statements.

The D.C. Public Service Commission approved the amended rate system Friday, though Washington Gas had yet to publicly announce the changes as of Monday morning. The increase, which is expected to generate an additional $1.4 million in revenue, is “reasonable and necessary for the company to meet the operating expenses and capital costs of providing reliable service in the District of Columbia,” the commission wrote.

Washington Gas had originally sought a much more substantial set of increases that would have bulked up its annual D.C. revenues by $20 million. But after a year of fighting virtually everyone, the company settled for a minimal increase. The company also agreed not to bid for another rate increase until 2011.

Here are the impacts of the rate increase:

» The monthly “customer charge,” a standard fee tied to the cost of maintaining Washington Gas facilities, will increase a dime, from $7.85 to $7.95 per month for residential consumers.

» The distribution charge, the fee the company bills for sending gas through its underground pipelines, will rise from 38.09 cents per therm to 38.73 cents per therm for most residential customers.

Washington Gas backs off rate hike

Michael Neibauer reports for the Washington Examiner's Web site, Washington Gas will drastically reduce the rate increase for Washington, D.C. customers.

Washington Gas Light Co. has agreed to drastically scale back proposed rate increases for its D.C. consumers, walking away from a yearlong case with next to nothing, under a settlement agreement reached last week with the District government and other parties.

The 8.1 percent rate increase that Washington Gas sought for its residential customers has been slashed to less than 1 percent, according to details of the deal released by the D.C. Public Service Commission, the District's utility regulator. The proposed 5.1 percent increase for commercial gas clients is now 1.7 percent.

The initial rate increase application filed in November 2006 would have garnered the company $20 million more a year. Now, it's looking at a token $1.4 million divided among its 151,000 natural-gas customers, minus the $1.3 million it cost to litigate the case.

Here's a money quote:

“The settlement's about as close to ‘We never should have filed this damn case; now let's get the hell out of here’ as you can get,” said People's Counsel Elizabeth Noel, who represents D.C. residents in utility matters.

Shaw Residents Hope for Consistent Holiday Heat

WJLA ABC News Web site reports all that residents in D.C.'s Shaw neighborhood want for Christmas is reliable natural gas to keep the heat on.

Dozens of people in D.C.'s Shaw neighborhood have a Christmas wish - that their heat stays on. Chronic gas-line glitches mean chilly nights for people living near 9th and Q streets Northwest. Now that colder weather has arrived, the neighborhood hopes Washington Gas will fix the problem soon.

Ralph Williams still talks about the recent night when his home on Columbia Street NW lost its gas and heat.

"It was unpleasant, that's for sure," he said.

Over on Q Street, Ray Milefsky has had it happen to him over over again.

ABC 7 News myTAKE - What's Your Opinion?"This is the fifth time in two weeks," he recalled.

The problem - vintage gas lines below certain streets fill with water when it rains. The fluid mixes with the gas and gums up the lines into houses. Ray Milefsky constantly checks his burner. Lately he confesses he's afraid to leave his house.

"The pilots will go out, the house will fill with gas as well as the heat will go off," he said.

A Washington Gas spokesperson says the utility is aware of the outages and plans to replace antiquated lines. On columbia street residents say workers began work, but then delayed it.

"It's also bad because it's the holidays and the guys really haven't been around to continue working on this," said Meladie Edmund.

Adding to the residents anger are the 'no parking until mid-February' notices that line the streets, even though no repair work is underway.

Washington Gas refused to offer a specific timeline for when repair work will resume, saying only sometime in the near future.

A year later, little movement on rate hikes

In an article written by Michael Neibauer in the Examiner highlights Pepco and Washington Gas's rate increases submitted in late 2006.

Pepco is seeking a 7.79 percent increase for power distribution, which would raise the average electric bill by about $6 a month for the company’s 235,000 clients. Washington Gas is looking for a 7.7 percent boost, which would add roughly $8.47 per month to the average residential heating bill for its 151,000 natural gas customers.

A decision in the Washington Gas matter will have to wait until at least 2008. The commission this week postponed evidentiary hearings after the People’s Counsel claimed it had run out of money to argue against the increase.

Washington Gas had previously been fined $350,000 by the commission for failing to turn over documents tied to the case, which led to a four-month delay in the proceeding.

It looks like Washington Gas is its own worst enemy when it comes to lining the pockets of its investors.

Washington Gas has wider quarterly loss

Jeff Clabaugh writes in the Washington Business Journal about Washington Gas's growing quarterly loss.

The District-based utility had a fiscal fourth-quarter net loss of $13.5 million, or 27 cents per share, compared to a net loss of $11.9 million, or 24 cents per share in the final quarter of 2006. The utility usually reports a loss for the summer quarter, due to lower demand for natural gas.

On another note, it looks like Washington Gas's HR and purchasing employees are out on the street and payroll, IT and customer service jobs will be cut by the end of the year. Merry Christmas! Employees get the lump of coal and management gets fat bonuses and stock options.

I'd suggest the rest of Washington Gas should unionize as soon as possible so someone other than the CEO will be looking out for their best interests.

It's pretty crazy to think that with the cost savings Washington Gas is hoping to rake in, the gas utility is still seeking rate increases in Maryland and D.C. The utility estimates it'll make as much as $2.18. This is good news for shareholders, but bad news for employees and customers. Washington Gas management is slashing the utility's ability to do its job, deliver safe and reliable natural gas.