State regulators have finalized a Roanoke Gas rate increase that adds about $4 to the average residential customer’s monthly bill.
The increase approved Thursday is to the company’s base rates, which are separate from the cost of gas. By law, Roanoke Gas must pass the cost of gas to customers without profit.
Customers likely will see little change in those rates on their upcoming bills because the increase has been in place on an interim basis since last fall.
Regulators instructed the company to refund customers the difference between the current rate and a higher interim rate that was in effect for a few months last year, but that difference amounts to less than $30,000 divided among all of the utility’s 64,000 customers.
Base rates cover the utility’s operations, maintenance and capital costs. The company has said it needs to increase them because of inflation.
“We recognize our customers are experiencing inflationary pressure in nearly all of their day-to-day expenditures,” Tommy Oliver, vice president of regulatory affairs and strategy for Roanoke Gas, said in an email on Friday.
“Roanoke Gas is sensitive to this and all employees work every day to control costs to ensure our rates remain as low as possible all the while ensuring we have a safe and reliable natural gas system.”
In March 2024, Roanoke Gas asked the State Corporation Commission, which regulates utilities in Virginia, for permission to earn $4.33 million more in revenue each year.
The SCC on Thursday approved a compromise between the company and SCC staff that would allow an additional $4.08 million in revenue each year, or about a 5% increase.
An average residential customer uses 5.6 dekatherms of gas monthly.