Been auditing a commercial client's Kansas Gas Service bills and something doesn't add up with their minimum bill calculation on Rate Schedule LGS-2. The tariff shows $45.50 minimum but they're being charged $52.80 consistently. Anyone else seeing this in KGS territory? Client is in Wichita with about 15,000 therms annually. Want to make sure I'm reading the tariff correctly before I challenge it.
Kansas Gas Service - weird minimum bill calculation?
Bonnie, check if they're adding the system reliability charge. KGS has been sneaky about bundling that into what looks like the minimum bill. I caught something similar with Memphis Light Gas & Water last month - they had a $8.50 reliability fee that wasn't clearly itemized. Pull the complete tariff schedule and look for any riders or surcharges.
Nevada Energy does the same thing with their gas division. What looks like a minimum bill violation is actually multiple small charges rolled together. Reggie's right about the reliability charge. Also check for any environmental compliance fees or pipeline safety surcharges. These utilities love to hide fees in the minimum calculation.
Good catch! Found a $4.80 "Gas Cost Recovery" rider and $2.50 "Transportation Enhancement Charge" that weren't in the base rate schedule I was looking at. Still seems high though. The math should be $45.50 + $4.80 + $2.50 = $52.80 exactly. Now I need to figure out if these riders are being applied correctly to the minimum bill vs. just usage charges.
Connecticut Natural Gas pulls similar shenanigans. The key is whether those riders apply to the customer charge portion or just the commodity. Read the rider tariffs carefully - some say "applicable to all customers" while others specify "per therm delivered." If it's per therm, it shouldn't be in your minimum bill calculation.
Had this exact issue with Black Hills Energy here in Iowa. Filed a formal complaint with the Iowa Utilities Board and got $3,200 in refunds for my client. The problem was they were applying the Gas Cost Recovery to the minimum bill even during months with zero usage. That's not how the tariff read, but they were doing it system-wide.
Perfect! Norm, that's exactly what I'm seeing. Zero therm months still showing the full $52.80 when it should just be the $45.50 customer charge. Going to compile 12 months of bills and file with the Kansas Corporation Commission. This could be a nice recovery for my client. Thanks everyone for the guidance!