Worried about rising PECO natural gas rates? PUC wants to hear from you
The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission announced a pair of early June telephonic hearings to gather public input on a proposed rate increase by PECO Energy Company — Gas Division, which provides natural gas distribution service to approximately 543,000 customers in southeastern Pennsylvania.
The rate changes proposed by PECO would increase their annual revenues by $82.1 million (9.1%). Under the rate increase proposal the total average monthly bill of a residential customer using 80 Ccf of natural gas per month would increase from $95.31 to $107.70 (13%).
In April the PUC suspended the rate increase request which was filed by PECO on March 31, while it investigates.
The two telephone hearing will talk place Wednesday, June 1, at 1 p.m. and at 6 p.m. If you wish to testify at the telephonic public input hearing, you must pre-register with the Office of Consumer Advocate by 3 p.m. on Friday, May 27. If you do not pre-register and provide the information listed below, you will not be able to testify. Individuals will testify in the order in which they pre-register. If you do not wish to testify but want to listen to the public input hearing, you may also contact the OCA to obtain the callin information.
PUC Administrative Law Judge F. Joseph Brady will preside over the hearings.
To pre-register, please contact the OCA by phone at 1-800-6846560 or by email at consumer@ paoca.org and provide: your name, the time of the hearing you will attend, your phone number, a phone number you can be reached prior to the hearing, email and if you require an interpreter to participate.
If you require an interpreter, please pre-register as soon as possible to allow every reasonable effort to have an interpreter present. If you have any hearing exhibits to which you will refer during the hearing, please email them to the OCA at consumer@paoca.org.
The OCA will forward the exhibits to the Judge and all parties. Exhibits must be received by May 27, 2022.
If you have any questions, please contact the OCA at toll-free at 800-684-6560 or consumer@ paoca.org.
Relay service number for persons who are deaf or hearing-impaired is 800-654-5988.
The deadline for signing up for the public input hearings is 3 p.m. on Friday, May 27.
Officials advise residents to prepare a statement beforehand; it is not required but can be helpful and the parties in the case may want to ask you a question to clarify something you said.
Any formal testimony that is offered during the hearing will become part of the record on which the PUC will issue its final decision.
A final decision by the Commission on this rate increase request is due by Dec. 30.