January 2018 — Florida City Gas (FCG) recently filed its first rate case for natural gas service in 14 years. For typical residential customers, this means an average increase of $1.73, or 6.4 percent, per month on their annual natural gas bill.
FCG rates are currently the lowest in the region, and these rate increases are essential to providing safe and reliable natural gas to FCG’s more than 108,000 customers.
“Because of some recent changes at the federal and state levels, as well as the more than $284 million that we have invested since 2004 in improving our ground infrastructure and capturing greater operational efficiencies, this is now the right time for us to look at a rate case,” Carolyn Bermudez, Vice President of Operation for Florida City Gas, told Invest:.
Since the last rate case, FCG has added 400 miles of distribution mains, 55 miles of transmission mains and 5,800 customers. The rate increase will allow for further investment in capital projects to enhance the system, an increase of capacity needs to ensure reliability in the southern part of the system and employee development in the face of an aging workforce.
FCG is committed to containing costs and efficient management, but like everyone else in today’s economy, it’s not immune to rising costs.
“We have reduced our annual operating expenses by more than $9 million [since 2004],” Bermudez told Invest:. “In order to maintain the necessary standards of service and reliability for natural gas to meet consumers’ needs, the economic forces are going to push the rates slightly up.”
The rate increases are expected to take effect in late summer of 2018.
For more information, visit the FCG website: https://www.floridacitygas.com/
