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.