HISTORY OF THE PROCEEDING Equitable is a corporation organized and existing under the laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Equitable is a natural gas distribution company (NGDC) in the business of purchasing, selling and distributing natural gas to retail customers within the Commonwealth, and is therefore a “public utility” within the meaning of Section 102 of the Public Utility Code, 66 Pa. C.S. §§ 102, subject to the regulatory jurisdiction of the Commission. Equitable’s distribution system encompasses approximately 3,506 miles of distribution pipeline servicing more than 260,000 residential, commercial and industrial customers. Equitable also operates gathering assets totaling 843 miles of pipeline. Its service area encompasses the City of Pittsburgh as well as adjacent territories in Allegheny, Armstrong, Butler, Clarion, Fayette, Greene, Indiana, Jefferson, Washington and Westmoreland Counties in Southwestern Pennsylvania. The LTIIP was filed on January 11, 2013, with copies being served upon the statutory advocates in accordance with Implementation of Act 11 of 2012, Docket No. M20122293695 (August 2, 2012) (Final Implementation Order). The DSIC was filed on January 29, 2013. Equitable’s DSIC Petition includes proposed Supplement No. 95 to Tariff Gas – Pa. P.U.C. No. 22 to introduce the DSIC Rider into the Company’s tariff with an effective date of April 1, 2013. The filing was made pursuant to 66 Pa. C.S. § 1353 and the Final Implementation Order. The OCA filed comments pertaining to the LTIIP on January 31, 2013, but did not initially request hearings. On February 19, 2013 OCA filed a Notice of Intervention and Public Statement, a Formal Complaint (Docket No. C20132348777), and an Answer to Equitable’s DSIC Petition. In its Answer to Equitable’s DSIC petition, OCA states that the Commission should deny Equitable’s Petition as filed, reject the proposed Tariff Supplement No. 95 to Tariff Gas – Pa. P.U.C. No. 22, and refer the
Small Diameter Cast Iron 3.8 2.6 2.5 0.9 0.0 Large Diameter Cast Iron 0.8 2.0 1.0 3.4 4.2 Small Diameter Bare Steel & Wrought Iron 9.0 7.6 10.0 6.2 5.4 Large Diameter Bare Steel & Wrought Iron 2.3 2.3 2.3 2.3 2.3 Gathering 5.7 5.8 5.7 5.7 5.8 Total (Miles) 21.6 20.3 21.5 18.5 17.7 Equitable states that it will replace meters as part of its replacement plan and that it uses a statistical sampling program to determine meter replacement. It states further that it will evaluate relocation of inside meter sets on an individual basis throughout the course of normal operations. Comments No comments were received regarding the quantity of property to be improved. Resolution Upon review of the LTIIP, the Commission finds that the reasonable estimates of the quantity of property to be improved requirement of the Final Implementation Order of Act 11, has been fulfilled. (5) PROJECTED ANNUAL EXPENDITURES AND MEASURES TO
accelerated infrastructure improvement, the Commission concludes that the DSIC filing is in the public interest and that the Company has met its obligation under Section 1353. (3) Long Term Infrastructure Improvement Plan Section 1353 requires that the utility have an approved Long Term Infrastructure Improvement Plan (LTIIP). Equitable filed a LTIIP with the Commission on January 11, 2013, which is recommended for approval concurrently with the DSIC. (4) Base Rate Case Section 1353(b)(4) requires a utility to certify that it has filed a base rate case within the five years prior to the date of its DSIC petition. Equitable has provided the required certification that its last base rate case, under which Equitable’s current base rates were established, was filed on June 30, 2008. (5) Other Information Required by the Commission Section 1354 - Customer Notice Pursuant to Section 1354, a utility is required to provide customer notice of: 1) Submission of the DSIC petition; 2) Commission’s disposition of the DSIC petition; 3) Any quarterly changes to the DSIC rate; and 4) Any other information required by the Commission. Equitable has verified that it will provide customer notice of the proposed DSIC, Commission action thereon, and quarterly updates through bill inserts, consistent with Act 11 and the Final Implementation Order. Equitable commenced notifying its customers of the Petition and the proposed DSIC through separate bill inserts, beginning at the time of this filing and