(A) Change in rate. Whenever a change occurs in the rates or charges of a supplier of gas to the city constituting a change in cost of gas per MCF of the city's gas sales, a determination shall be made as to the effect per MCF billing unit of sales of such change in cost of gas.
(1) Such determination shall be made by:
(a) Application of the most recently effective rates or charges and the new rates or charges to the city's average monthly volume of gas purchased during the most recently available 12-month period.
(b) Dividing the cost of gas calculated in division (1)(a) above by the number of billing units of gas sales during the same most recently available 12-month period.
(c) Comparing the resultant quotients of the average cost per MCF billing unit of gas sales from division (1)(b) above.
(d) The difference so derived to the nearest $.01 shall represent the effect of changes in gas cost per MCF billing unit of sales.
(2) The current rates or charges of the city to its customers may be decreased or increased by application of a gas cost adjustment as determined in division (1) above in the discretion of the Mayor subject to rescission by Council. The rates so adjusted shall be effective on the beginning date of the billing period next commencing on and after the effective date of a change in rates or charges of gas supplied to the city; however, in the case of metered accounts, the adjusted rates shall become effective with meter readings taken on and after the date 15 days subsequent to the date of the supplier increase or decrease giving rise to such change.
(B) Refunds. When the city receives refunds from one or more of its suppliers which shall have resulted from a reduction in rates or charges applicable to prior periods and previously reflected in a change in rates under this chapter, the city shall pass on such refunds to customers as hereinafter described:
(1) Recompute, in the same manner as set forth in division (A) above, each previously effective change in rates.
(2) Refund to its customers as a credit to each customer's bill over a period not to exceed four months commencing not more than 60 days after the date of receipt of the refund, an amount determined as follows:
(a) Apply the difference between the original billed change in rate and the recomputed change in rate of division (B)(1) above to total sales for the period of over-collection from all customers;
(b) Apportion any interest received in connection with supplier refunds in the same ratio as the principal applicable to such customers; and
(c) Add the amounts determined in divisions (2)(a) and (b) above (being the total dollar amount refundable) and divide such amount by the estimate of total sales to all customers for the refund period specified in division (B)(2) above, to determine the refund factor, which shall be applicable to the volumes billed to customers each month.
(d) The company shall not be required to refund amounts for which the associated credit factor would be less than 0.1c per MCF of total sales, but will accumulate all refunds until the aggregate reaches an amount of 0.1c per MCF.
(e) The refund factor as computed shall be adjusted, if necessary, to insure refund of the total refund amount computed under division (B)(2) above.
(Ord. 74-13, passed 12-11-74; Am. Ord. 91-3, passed 12-28-91)