Office of Consumer Counsel advises Colorado Natural Gas Customers of Potential Bill Increases and Encourages the Public to Participate in the Regulatory Proceeding
DENVER – The Colorado Office of Consumer Counsel (OCC) is advising Colorado Natural Gas (CNG) customers of CNG’s filing with the Colorado Public Utilities Commission (PUC) seeking approval to implement a System Safety and Integrity Rider, or SSIR.
If approved, the SSIR would allow CNG to recover the costs of specific pipeline safety and integrity projects, through a separate rider on customers’ monthly bills, from customers for a number of years. If the PUC approves CNG’s request, there will be overall bill increases for both residential and commercial customers. The expected bill impacts for 2022 are as follows, with additional increases planned to follow in future years:
Mountain Division
| District | Average Monthly Increase | Increase as a Percent of Total Bill |
| Cripple Creek Residential | $1.22 | 1.15% |
| Cripple Creek Commercial | $9.04 | 1.18% |
| Cripple Creek Transportation | $186.78 | 0.53% |
| Bailey Residential | $1.54 | 1.24% |
| Bailey Commercial | $ 8.40 | 1.23% |
| Pueblo West Residential | $1.08 | 1.19% |
| Pueblo West Commercial | $5.60 | 1.20% |
| Pueblo West Transportation | $33.48 | 0.44% |
| South Park Residential | $1.71 | 1.26% |
| South Park Commercial | $5.75 | 1.19% |
| Eastern Division | ||
| ECD Residential | $4.60 | 7.00% |
| ECD Commercial | $8.97 | 7.00% |
| ECD Large Volume | $77.87 | 7.00% |
CNG’s filings and other parties’ filings in this proceeding can be found on the PUC’s E-Filings website.
Remote Public Comment Hearing on March 8,2021
The OCC encourages customers of CNG to participate in a remote Public Hearing at which members of the public will be permitted to provide oral comments before the PUC. The hearing is set for March 8, 2021, beginning at 3:30 pm. Those wishing to provide comments may do so by joining a video-conference online or by telephone using the information to be publicly posted by March 1, 2021 at: http://www.dora.state.co.us/pacific/Webcasts/ElectronicRecords/20A-0284G_Notice.pdf . Customers providing oral comments are also encoruaged to file written comments, as set forth below.
Filing of Written Comments with the PUC
The OCC also encourages CNG customers and other interested parties to file written comments. To access the form to file written comments, go to the followingsite https://www.dora.state.co.us/pls/efi/EFI_COMMENT_GUI.Gas and select “CNG” as the gas company. On the next page select “20A-0284G” as the case number. Comments, along with attachments such as images, documents, etc., can be uploaded there.
Alternatively, written comments may be filed by mailing to: Colorado PUC, 1560 Broadway, Suite 250, Denver, CO 80202. Please include “Proceeding No. 20A-0284G – CNG SSIR” when filling out the Comment field or providing any other written comments. To be most effective, it is recommended that written comments be filed prior to March 8, 2021, but they may be filed at any time.
###
About the OCC
The Colorado Office of Consumer Counsel (OCC), a division within the Department of Regulatory Agencies (DORA), represents residential, small business, and agricultural utility consumers as a class in electric and natural gas proceedings before the Colorado Public Utilities Commission (PUC). The OCC does not regulate; it advises and advocates on behalf of consumers. The OCC helps consumers by lowering or eliminating proposed utility rate increases and by ensuring that utility rates, regulations and policies are more equitable for residential, small business, and agricultural consumers.Visit occ.colorado.gov for more information.
About DORA
DORA is dedicated to preserving the integrity of the marketplace and is committed to promoting a fair and competitive business environment in Colorado. Consumer protection is our mission. Visit dora.colorado.gov for more information or call 303-894-7855/toll free 1-800-886-7675 outside of Denver.