Aquila customers to get refund

 6 comment(s)  
 E-mail Story
 Print Story
  Share

 digg it!
 Facebook
 del.icio.us
Seed Newsvine
Fark It
Reddit

Text Size: 

Tools Sponsor

By RICHARD PIERSOL / Lincoln Journal Star

About 220,000 current and former Aquila gas customers in Nebraska will get a refund credit as soon as possible after the closing of the gas division’s acquisition by Black Hills Corp., expected Monday, an  Aquila spokesman said.

The refunds, about $31 for the average residential customer, depending upon how long the customer was receiving gas during an interim rate period, will come in the form of a credit on the customer’s bill, said Bob McKeon, local spokesman for Aquila.

The refunds are due to make up the difference between higher interim rates Aquila started charging in February 2007, and rates approved by the Nebraska Public Service Commission in July of last year and applied in April of this year.

[+]Enlarge

Aquila originally asked for $16.3 million in rate additions, applied the interim rates, then lowered its intent to $13.1 million.  The commission approved $9.1 million in higher rates.  

 Aquila appealed the commission’s rate decision to Lancaster County District Court, in an effort to recover more of its health care costs and gas system improvements, but lost the appeal.   

The case is still alive, as the commission’s public advocate for natural gas ratepayers is appealing the commission’s refund order.

“The appeal does not delay our planned residential refund, since all parties agree that the residential refund is at least that amount,” McKeon said in an email.

“There has been a slight delay of a couple of weeks since we can’t start the refund while we’re converting our systems for the sale, and we’ll pay interest to our customers for that delay.”

Any residential customer of Aquila in Nebraska who received natural gas service between February 15, 2007, the date Aquila implemented interim rates, and April 1, 2008, when Aquila implemented final Nebraska Public Service Commission approved rates, is entitled to a refund, with interest, McKeon said.     

That’s more than the estimated 175,000 regular Aquila customers in the state because it includes those who had service at any time during the interim rate period, he said.

The public advocate’s appeal to Lancaster County District Court addresses how the $4.4 million in refunds should be allocated.   

Roger Cox,  the public advocate, said he’s asking the court to award about $4-$5 more for the average residential customer.

Aquila isn’t waiting for that to be resolved.

 “We don’t know how the court will rule on the PA’s appeal, but we want to get the residential customers back their refunds as we know them through credits on their bills,” McKeon said.

Aquila’s retail natural gas operations in Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas and Colorado are being sold to Black Hills Corp., a diversified energy company based in Rapid City, S.D.      

Aquila’s Nebraska employees and administration will remain in place.  More than 400 people work for Aquila in Nebraska, about 200 in Lincoln.

The transition is expected to be transparent to customers.

Reach Richard Piersol at 473-7241 or at dpiersol@journalstar.com.