Hope Gas Files Request with PSC for Review of Rates

For the first time in five years, today Hope Gas has filed a request with the Public Service Commission of West Virginia to review its base rates in accordance with PSC requirements around Hope’s Pipeline Expansion and Replacement Program filings.
The filing requests an adjustment to Hope’s base rates.
Base rates cover the costs of operating the business, such as the supplies and equipment needed to maintain pipeline infrastructure, labor costs and other general operating expenses.
The cost of natural gas is not a part of the base rate.
“Hope Gas has served West Virginia homes and businesses for more than 125 years with an unwavering commitment to providing safe and reliable natural gas service,” said Jo Carol Farmer, senior vice president of regulatory affairs and government relations.
“While inflation has increased costs across the board, Hope remains committed to providing natural gas service at the greatest value possible for the homes and businesses we serve and to continue investing in the future of the Mountain State.”
The base rate structure in this filing has been designed to:
•Adjust for inflation and the increase in operating costs since 2019.
•Align the base rates for all Hope customers, including recently acquired customers.
•Continue strong investments in the safety and reliability of West Virginia’s pipeline infrastructure serving homes and businesses.
•Balance costs appropriately between producers and customers based on the cost to serve those customer classes.
•Create a pilot program to provide bill payment assistance to eligible families.
•Create a weather normalization mechanism that will adjust customer bills due to variations from normal weather. 
Hope’s current base rates are based on costs from 2019. The inflation factor from 2019 to 2024, as reported by the Consumer Price Index, is 25.38 percent.
Since Hope’s previous base rate filing, Hope has acquired five smaller West Virginia natural gas companies with the goal to enhance service reliability for the customers on those systems and strengthen the natural gas pipeline infrastructure across the state.
Officials says the company’s work on and investments in those systems provide positive benefits to customers.
Customers in some areas of the state became accustomed to service disruptions, especially during cold weather.
This year, during some of the coldest weather in recent winters, Hope customers experienced increased reliability to ensure the warmth and safety of their families and property.
As noted in testimony from Christopher Freeland, vice president of regulatory and dinance, Hope chose to exclude investments that typically increase cost-of-service and rates from this filing to actively reduce the overall amount requested.
Incremental investments in IT, PREP and certain facilities are essential for strong operations, he said.
Hope has not included more than $7.5 million in required operating revenue from this request to mitigate the rate increase.
The bill impact will vary for customers of Hope’s recently acquired companies based, in part, on the length of time since the companies’ previous rate adjustments.
Those companies include Consumers Gas, Peoples Gas, Southern Public, Bazzle Gas, and Standard Gas.
Representing approximately 20 percent of Hope’s total customer base, the recently acquired companies have not had a rate increase in more than a decade, and in one case, 37 years.
If the PSC approves the rate request, then for a typical residential customer using an average of 5.5 mcf per month, the monthly bill would increase by $21.10 to $33.74, depending on the company.
The PSC has 300 days to review this request.
Hope’s filing indicates rates will go into effect in 30 days or by May 30; however, as a normal course of business, it is anticipated the commission will suspend the rates for 270 days to fully review Hope’s filing. Rates will not change until the PSC grants approval.
It is anticipated approved rates would be effective in February 2026.
“Hope Gas is proud to be a meaningful contributor to job creation, economic development and the delivery of American energy in West Virginia,” Farmer said.
“We understand the impact price increases have on families and businesses. Many of these same increases have impacted our business over the past five years. We have done all we can to minimize the amount of this request while ensuring we can continue to provide the safe, reliable natural gas service necessary for our customers today and maintain the infrastructure needed for the state’s future. We believe in the future of West Virginia and serving the families and businesses here is our priority.”