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.