O & R seeks rate hike
Orange and Rockland Utilities yesterday filed an application with the state Public Service Commission to raise its natural gas distribution rates by $23.7 million, or by 4.7 percent, or about $10 per month for the average residential customer.
The utility said it has invested $155 million in natural gas system infrastructure improvements during the past 10 years to continue to meet the needs of the existing customers and to continue to provide delivery capacity to meet an average one percent annual customer growth rate. That translates to about 1,200 new residential, commercial and industrial customers annually, said company spokesman Michael Donovan.
''The fact of the matter is the expansion is being driven primarily by the growth in Orange County,'' he said. ''We've seen that Orange County has had spectacular growth over the last few years and that growth appears to be undiminished.''
The company also invests another $15 million on average each year in natural gas operations and maintenance activities.
It usually takes about one year for the PSC to review and rule on rate requests.
Orange and Rockland Utilities yesterday filed an application with the state Public Service Commission to raise its natural gas distribution rates by $23.7 million, or by 4.7 percent, or about $10 per month for the average residential customer.
The utility said it has invested $155 million in natural gas system infrastructure improvements during the past 10 years to continue to meet the needs of the existing customers and to continue to provide delivery capacity to meet an average one percent annual customer growth rate. That translates to about 1,200 new residential, commercial and industrial customers annually, said company spokesman Michael Donovan.
''The fact of the matter is the expansion is being driven primarily by the growth in Orange County,'' he said. ''We've seen that Orange County has had spectacular growth over the last few years and that growth appears to be undiminished.''
The company also invests another $15 million on average each year in natural gas operations and maintenance activities.
It usually takes about one year for the PSC to review and rule on rate requests.
http://www.midhudsonnews.com/News/OR_ratehike-29Nov05.htm