Key components in Boonville Natural Gas Corporation's bills include gas costs and base rates.
To compare average gas utility bills, see the IURC's monthly residential surveys.
2023-2024 Base Rate Case
Base rates cover "non-gas" costs for a utility, including operational, maintenance, and capital costs. A natural gas utility is allowed to earn a return on this portion of the bill.
The OUCC and Boonville Natural Gas Corporation have reached a settlement in the pending rate that case would reduce the utility's requested increase from more than $1 Million to approximately $735,000. The OUCC recommended capping the increase at nearly $716,000.
UPDATE (9/18/2024): The IURC issued a final order approving the settlement agreement.
All publicly filed documents in the rate case (Cause No. 45985-U) are available on the Commission's website.
The OUCC issued a news release Jan. 11, 2024 to invite consumer comments.
The utility requested the increase through the state's Small Utility Filing Procedure, which is aimed at reducing rate case expenses while not reducing the standard of review by the OUCC and IURC.
Current Base Rates
Base rates cover "non-gas" costs for a utility, including operational, maintenance, and capital costs. A natural gas utility is allowed to earn a return on this portion of the bill.
Boonville Natural Gas Corporation's current base rates were set in October 2019. In its rate case order, the IURC approved a settlement agreement between the OUCC and the utility. It reduced the utility's requested increase from 14.2 percent to 11.4 percent.
Gas Costs
Natural gas utilities buy gas for their customers in a competitive wholesale market. Indiana law allows utilities to adjust rates periodically to recover changes in those costs, which can go up or down. These costs comprise a significant portion of a residential bill and are recovered through the Gas Cost Adjustment (GCA) process.
- Utilities may recover wholesale gas costs on a dollar-for-dollar basis but may not profit on them.
- Before adjusting rates to reflect the costs, a utility must demonstrate that it has shopped prudently in the competitive market.
- Each GCA filing requires OUCC review and IURC approval.
Boonville Natural Gas Corporation files gas cost adjustment requests every six months. Its most recent GCA (IURC Cause No. 37369 GCA-132) received approval in October 2024.
10-31-2024