PUCO Approves Suburban Natural Gas Company Tax Cut Rate Reductions

COLUMBUS, OHIO (Sept. 9, 2020) – The Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO) today authorized Suburban Natural Gas Company to establish a credit on natural gas customer bills to reflect the impact of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) of 2017 on its rates.

Suburban will credit residential customers the amount it has over collected, plus interest, since Jan. 1, 2018 under the previous corporate tax rates. The $454,785 credit, which includes interest, will be passed back to customers over a 24-month period.

Suburban will return to customers normalized excess accumulated deferred income tax (EDIT), estimated by the utility to be approximately $1.6 million.

Suburban will credit customers non-normalized EDIT of $233,650 over a 10-year period.

Background

The TCJA was signed into law on Dec. 22, 2017, which, among other things, reduced the federal corporate income tax rate from 35 to 21 percent, effective Jan. 1, 2018.

On Jan. 10, 2018, the Commission opened an investigation to study the impact of the TCJA on regulated utilities and how to pass benefits on to customers.

On Sept. 26, 2019, the Commission approved a stipulation in Suburban’s most recent rate case which required Suburban to file an application to adopt a new tariff in order to pass savings from the TCJA to customers. The company filed this application on Jan. 10, 2020.

On April 6, 2020, PUCO staff filed its review and recommendations.

Suburban serves approximately 50,000 customers in central and northwest Ohio.

A copy of today’s finding and order can be found on the PUCO website www.PUCO.ohio.gov by clicking on the link to Documents and Rules, then Docketing Information System (DIS) and searching case 20-43-GA-ATA.