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PSC tables Delta supplemental growth rider after commissioners say utility provided key data late
Summary
The Mississippi Public Service Commission voted Oct. 16 to table Delta’s supplemental growth rider filing until next month after commissioners said requested commercial and large-volume billing data arrived late. Staff had recommended approval; the item was deferred for further review.
The Mississippi Public Service Commission on Oct. 16 voted to table Delta Natural Gas’s supplemental growth rider filing until its November meeting after commissioners said the company provided requested billing data too late for full review.
Staff told the commission the supplemental growth rider (SGR) filing covers the 12-month period ended Dec. 31, 2024, and is designed to encourage industrial development by letting Delta extend gas service for projects that otherwise would not be feasible. Staff said the SGR would have increased the revenue requirement by about $80,000 and raised the average residential customer bill by roughly $0.06. Staff recommended approval.
The item drew sustained questioning from Commissioner Carr, who pressed Delta’s representatives for the commercial- and large-volume customer data the commission staff had requested more than a month earlier. “These are, you know, one is on the laundromat. Their bill went up $300… one is an agricultural customer and a poultry farmer, and his bill went up $500,” Carr said, describing customer impacts and urging faster responses from the utility.
A Delta representative told the commission, “I got it about 04:00 yesterday, and we had to go back and determine on some of those complaints whether there was a meter error” and said the company was having internal discussions about customer notice when classification changes occur. The representative said the late production of the data was the reason staff did not have sufficient time to vet some commercial and large-volume billing determinants.
Given the outstanding questions and the late responses, the commission voted to table the SGR to permit staff and the company to provide the requested information and for commissioners to review it. The motion to table carried on a voice vote. The utility committed to deliver a formal packet of the requested data and to meet with staff and commissioners to address the outstanding items before the next meeting.
The SGR allows Delta to invest up to $5,000,000 annually without project-specific commission approval, and projects above that threshold require Commission approval, according to the filing. Staff said there were no supplemental projects invested in the 12-month period covered by this filing.
The item will be returned to the commission’s agenda next month for further action, at which time commissioners said they expect the outstanding data to be in the record.
