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Commission approves Spire Alabama request to cancel AIM tariff, staff stresses continued focus on pipeline safety
Summary
The Alabama Public Service Commission voted to allow Spire Alabama to cancel its Accelerated Infrastructure Modernization (AIM) tariff, citing sharply higher per-mile replacement costs; staff said the company will continue safety-focused replacements guided by leak surveys.
The Alabama Public Service Commission on July 28 approved Spire Alabama's application to cancel the Accelerated Infrastructure Modernization (AIM) tariff, concluding that sharply rising replacement costs have made the rider unsustainable for customers.
Utility Services Division Director Jeff Johnston told commissioners that the projected return and program economics no longer justify the AIM rider and that the company remains committed to safety. "Spire has continues to commit that it holds safety as its number 1 priority and will continue to manage and maintain the system in such a way to ensure the safe, reliable delivery of gas," Johnston said.
Johnston explained staff analysis showing replacement costs for a mile of cast iron pipe rose from a little under $500,000 a mile to over $2,000,000 a mile since the program began, driving suspension of the mileage-based enforcement in recent years and prompting the company's use of leak-survey priorities in place of the AIM mileage targets.
Commissioner Jeremy Oden pressed staff to confirm that pipeline replacement would continue despite the tariff cancellation; Johnston said the company is prioritizing the "worst of the worst" leaks identified in surveys and that the Commission will continue oversight to ensure safety. Commissioners moved, seconded and voted in favor of the staff recommendation to permit cancellation of the AIM tariff.
