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People's Counsel urges PSC to reject Washington Gas' sunset plan, seeks cap and revised filing
Summary
The Office of People's Counsel told the commission the submitted sunset plan lacks the detailed cost justification required by statute and recommended rejection pending a refiling that includes cost breakdowns, a spending cap or budget guardrail, quarterly reporting and a written customer transition plan.
Nicole Zeichner, senior assistant for the Office of People's Counsel (OPC), told the Public Service Commission that OPC recommends rejecting Washington Gas' sunset plan until the company submits a revised filing with detailed justification for projected 2027 closeout costs. "The plan first lacks justification for projected expenses and fails to demonstrate that they're reasonable as required by statute," Zeichner said, citing the statutory reasonableness requirement in PUA 7-222F.
OPC highlighted what it called the magnitude and composition concerns for the closeout budget, noting WGL projects about $590,000 in utility-administration costs for 2027 compared with roughly $722,000 in 2025 and raising questions about whether projected non-incentive expenses are reasonable. OPC also pointed to WGL's 2024-2025 variance between projected and reported costs (OPC cited projected costs exceeding reported costs by about $6.5 million, or roughly 31% in 2025) as a reason more granular detail is necessary.
OPC recommended four actions: reject the current filing and require a revised plan with itemized 2027 projected costs and explanations; minimize non-incentive expenses and establish application cutoff dates; set a commission-approved spending cap with advance approval if the cap would be exceeded and require quarterly reporting; and require a written, cost-effective customer transition plan using existing avenues rather than hiring new staff.
