News

PG&E filed its 2019 Gas Transmission and Storage (GT&S) Rate Case today, November 17, 2017. This rate case application covers 2019-2021, as required by the California Public Utilities Commission’s (CPUC) decision in PG&E’s last GT&S Rate Case. The application also provides revenue requirement and rate information for 2022, in the event the Commission decides to adopt a four-year rate case period.

The expenditures forecasted in this case are for future work to meet the higher levels of safety mandated by the state of California and federal government for all gas pipeline companies and all natural gas storage providers. Ongoing actions include making pipelines piggable, pipe replacement, strength testing, and valve replacement and automation. Additionally, this rate case includes requested funds for increased inspections and integrity standards for gas storage facilities.

The following key drivers impact backbone rates:

• Increase in backbone revenue requirement, driven largely by the ongoing safety work described above
• Decrease in backbone transmission throughput, resulting primarily from a forecasted decline in electric generation load
• Increase in storage revenue requirement
• Increase in percentage of storage costs included in backbone rates

The increase in storage costs is caused by the Division of Oil, Gas, and Geothermal Resources (DOGGR) draft regulations that, once finalized, will require PG&E to perform additional construction, inspection and maintenance work on its gas storage facilities. To help decrease long-term costs, PG&E is proposing to substantially change its gas storage asset holdings and their role in market and operational functions, as described in Chapter 11 of the rate case testimony, “Natural Gas Storage Strategy” (NGSS). The basic framework of the NGSS is documented in a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) negotiated between PG&E, the Independent Storage Providers (ISPs) and The Utility Reform Network (TURN).

The following are parts of PG&E’s filing that we believe you, our customers, will be most interested in:

• PG&E is proposing to cease operations at its Los Medanos and Pleasant Creek gas storage facilities by the end of 2021.
• PG&E is proposing to eliminate Market Center firm service.
• PG&E is proposing to establish a System Supply Reliability Standard.
• PG&E Core Gas Supply is proposing changes to its backbone and storage holdings.

PG&E’s proposed backbone rates are as follows:

($/Dth @ Full Contract)
- backbone transmission rate per Dth incurred by a firm shipper that uses its full contract quantity at a 100 percent load factor.

To read the filing, go here and in the "Case" dropdown select GTS Rate Case 2019 [A. 17-11-009].

Contact Allen DeBrum at (925) 244-3498 with questions.