BGE to ramp up replacing 7% of gas services that cause 48% of gas service leaks
Baltimore Gas and Electric Co. will be accelerating its replacement program for its aging gas infrastructure over the next half-decade, but not as much as the company originally wanted to, according to a Maryland Public Service Commission order issued May 30.
The company ultimately wants to replace all of its 1,216 miles of cast iron main, 22 miles of bare steel main, 844 miles of bare steel services, 238 miles of copper service pipes and 446 miles of pre-1970 three-quarter-inch high-pressure steel service lines. While these five categories represented about 20% of the company's total distribution system mileage at the end of 2016, they contributed to 70% of all the gas leaks the company reported that year.
Southwest Gas requests $32.5M rate increase, with tax cuts offsetting rate hike
Southwest Gas Corp. asked its Nevada regulators to approve a roughly $32.5 million rate increase, largely to cover higher service costs and infrastructure replacement work.
In a request filed with the Public Utilities Commission of Nevada, the Southwest Gas Holdings Inc. utility proposed to raise revenues by $14.4 million, or about 3.8% in southern Nevada and 1.9% in northern Nevada, to account for changes in Southwest Gas' cost of service since it last filed a general rate case, according to a May 31 news release.
South Jersey Industries gets Md. regulator's approval for Elkton Gas deal
The Maryland Public Service Commission granted approval to South Jersey Industries Inc.'s proposed acquisition of Elkton Gas Co. from the Southern Co. subsidiary Pivotal Utility Holdings Inc. At deal closing, South Jersey Industries would become New Jersey's second largest natural gas provider and the third largest local gas distribution company in the U.S., providing service to over 681,000 customers, according to a June 1 news release. Elkton Gas serves about 7,000 customers in the greater Elkton, Md., area in eastern Maryland.
Report: Trans Mountain lawyers to ask BC judge for stricter injunction
Lawyers for Trans Mountain are planning to ask a British Columbia judge to amend an order allowing protesters within five meters of the Burnaby Terminal and the Westridge Marine Terminal work sites, after a request for a 50-meter exclusion zone for was turned down, The Canadian Press reported June 1.
