Nov 9, 2012 2 min read

The state Public Utility Commission voted Thursday to investigate a request filed by Columbia Gas of Pennsylvania Inc. seeking to raise its rates by about 23 percent to recover investment required to update its underground gas distribution facilities.

The commission said in a news release it voted 5-0 to investigate the request, which has been suspended for up to seven months and will be assigned to the Office of Administrative Law Judge for recommended decision or settlement. Columbia became the first natural gas utility to seek a rate adjustment under Act 11 after calling for an annual revenue increase of $77.3 million in late September.

Mark Kempic, president of Columbia Gas of Pennsylvania, has said the filing is a fair request and reflects the company’s commitment to modernize its infrastructure.

Columbia has invested nearly $400 million since 2007 to improve its distribution facilities by replacing more than 2.3 million feet of aging pipe, upgrading more than a half-million feet in 2012 alone.

“These pipes have serviced us for 100 years, and now it’s time to upgrade them for the next 100 years,” Columbia spokeswoman Rachel Ford said Friday.

Ford said this process has also created more than 800 jobs statewide.

According to both the PUC and Columbia, the request would increase the total monthly bill for a typical customer who purchases 73 therms of gas from $67 to $83.

Ford said Columbia’s average residential bill is the lowest of the nine largest gas utilities in the state and will be 6 percent less than the state average in the winter even with the proposed rate increase. Decisions on rate increase requests usually take up to nine months to complete and the investigation is standard procedure, she said.

Columbia provides natural gas services to about 411,00 customers in 26 counties across the state.