To compare natural gas bills for regulated Indiana utilities, see the IURC's monthly residential surveys.
Key components in natural gas bills include gas costs and base rates.
2024 Base Rate Case
Base rates cover "non-gas" costs for a utility, including operational, maintenance, and capital costs. A natural gas utility is allowed to earn a return on this portion of the bill.
New rates and charges for South Eastern Indiana Natural Gas Co. received IURC approval on Dec. 11, 2024. The Commission's order approved a settlement agreement between the OUCC and the utility.
All publicly filed documents in the rate case (Cause No. 46074-U) are available on the Commission's website.
The OUCC issued a July 10, 2024 news release to invite public comments.
The utility requested the increase through the state's Small Utility Filing Procedure, which is aimed at reducing rate case expenses while not reducing the standard of review by the OUCC and IURC.
The IURC approved the utility's previous base rates in 2018.
Gas Costs
Natural gas utilities buy gas for their customers in a competitive wholesale market. Indiana law allows utilities to adjust rates periodically to recover changes in those costs, which can go up or down. These costs comprise a significant portion of a residential bill and are recovered through the Gas Cost Adjustment (GCA) process.
- Utilities may recover wholesale gas costs on a dollar-for-dollar basis but may not profit on them.
- Before adjusting rates to reflect the costs, a utility must demonstrate that it has shopped prudently in the competitive market.
- Each GCA filing requires OUCC review and IURC approval.
South Eastern Indiana Natural Gas Co. files gas cost adjustment requests every three months. The utility's most recent GCA (Cause No. 37785 - GCA 133) received approval in September 2024.
Additional Resources
12-11-2024