BOISE, ID – December 2, 2022 – Intermountain Gas Company filed a request with the Idaho Public Utilities Commission to increase its price to serve its natural gas customers. If approved, it would increase the monthly bill for an average residential customer by about $2.19, or 4.4%, and for the average commercial customer by about $3.43, or 1.5%.
The proposed increase is for $11.3 million annually over current prices, or a 3.2% overall increase. This base price change is not impacted by changes in the cost of natural gas. The last base price increase was 2.5%, effective in 2017.
The primary reason for the request is due to the infrastructure investments made by the company since the last regulatory proceeding that was filed in 2016. Intermountain’s rate base, which is partially how customer prices are determined, has grown by about $152 million since 2016, or about 64%.
“We recognize prices have increased for many day-to-day necessities because of rising inflation since mid-2021; however, a good portion of the infrastructure investments that are part of this regulatory request were made before rising inflation,” said Nicole Kivisto, president and CEO of Intermountain Gas Company. “We believe the infrastructure investments are prudent to ensure safe and reliable natural gas service to our customers. Current prices do not reflect the cost of providing service to our customers, which is why we are requesting this increase.”
The Idaho PUC has up to seven months to issue a decision on this request. This is just the second general price increase request made by the company over a 37-year period. The request is in regard to the cost to serve customers and does not include the cost of natural gas, which is about 64% of a customer’s monthly bill.
Intermountain Gas encourages customers to use energy wisely. Conservation tips, information on energy assistance and information on the company’s level pay program can be found on the company’s website: www.intgas.com.