(A) Rate schedule, monthly charge: heat value, basis of; adjustment; penalty for delinquency; adjustment for cost of purchased gas and taxes. The grantee, its successors or assigns, shall file and make effective initially a schedule of rates for gas service and shall furnish gas at the schedule of rates hereafter set forth or at such other reasonable rates as may be hereafter established from time to time under the Nebraska Municipal Natural Gas Regulation Act, Neb. RS 66-1801 et seq.
(B) Firm gas service rates.
(1) Availability. These rates are available only to domestic and commercial customers whose maximum requirements for natural gas are less than 100,000 cubic feet per day. The grantee shall not be required to serve any customer at the following rates whose requirements amount to 100,000 cubic feet or more per day. The grantee may negotiate price and other contract terms with customers whose natural gas requirements exceed 50,000 cubic feet per day.
(2) Residential customers.
Residential Customers | Amount |
Monthly customer charge | $7.50 |
Rate per 100 cubic feet | $0.10325 |
(3) Commercial customers.
Commercial Customers | Amount |
Monthly customer charge | $11 |
Rate per 100 cubic feet | $0.13519 |
(4) Rates.
(a) The foregoing rates apply only when bills are paid on or before 20 days after the monthly billing date. When not so paid, a 1% per month late fee will apply on the unpaid amount.
(b) The above and foregoing rate shall be understood to be based upon natural gas of the British thermal unit (BTU) heating value of 1,000 BTUs per cubic foot of gas. If in any monthly period the average heating value of gas sold and delivered to the customers shall vary from 1,000 BTUs, then the volumes of gas billed to the customers during that month shall be multiplied by the factor of average heating value in BTUs + 1.000 to adjust for the variance.
(5) Turn-on and reconnect fee. In addition to the other rates set forth in this section, the grantee may charge a $26 fee to initiate service (“turn-on fee”) for each customer account and a $30 fee (“reconnect fee”) to reconnect service that has been discontinued or terminated for nonpayment.
(C) Adjustment for cost of purchased gas.
(1) In addition to the firm gas service rates set forth in division (A) above, a separate charge per therm may be made for the monthly cost of purchased gas in the purchased gas cost adjustment, if the grantee (or any predecessor of the grantee) has properly filed a natural gas supply-cost-adjustment rate schedule pursuant to state law. Such purchased gas cost adjustment shall be computed monthly pursuant to the natural gas supply-cost-adjustment rate schedule filed by the grantee (or any predecessor of the grantee) pursuant to state law.
(2) Any refund, including interest thereon, if any, received by the company from its supplier in respect of increased rates paid by the grantee subject to refund and applicable to natural gas purchased on a firm supply basis for resale in the village shall be refunded to its gas customers in the form of credits on such customers’ bills, or in cash, to the extent that such increased rates paid by the company were passed on to such firm gas customers.
(D) Adjustment for taxes. If, after the effective date of this section, the business of the grantee in the village shall be subjected to any taxes measured by its gross revenues from the operation of such business or the volume of such business or constituting a fee for carrying on such business, or in the event that:
(1) The rate of any such tax; or
(2) The amount of any such fee shall be increased after the effective date of this section, the gas distribution company shall be entitled to increase its charges under the aforesaid rates so as to offset such imposition or impositions or such increase.
(E) General rate adjustment. The above provided for cost of purchased gas and tax adjustments are apart from and shall not in any manner limit or abridge either the grantee’s right to request or the Board of Trustees’s authority to grant general rate adjustments increasing or decreasing such rates.
(F) Interruptible gas service rate.
(1) Availability. This rate is available only on a contract basis to commercial or industrial customers whose use of natural gas is subject to interruption and periods of curtailment for reasons including, but not limited to, protecting the service of the grantee’s firm gas users.
(2) Rate. The rate of interruptible gas service shall be such rate as may be mutually agreed upon between the customer and that gas service company.
(G) Environmental costs. The grantee may defer expenses reasonably incurred after April 30,1995, as a result of monitoring, testing, and clean-up (hereinafter referred to generally as “remediation” costs), if any, at the five manufactured gas plant sites allocated to Rate Area Three. No carrying costs will be calculated on any such balance of deferred remediation costs. At the time of its next general rate case, the grantee may request recovery of any deferred remediation costs and, if recovery is sought, must demonstrate in its rate application, or 60 days prior to the deadline for filing the municipal report, that the remediation expenses were prudently incurred and reasonable, and that grantee made reasonable efforts to recover remediation costs from potentially responsible third parties (which may include, but are not limited to, the grantee’s predecessors in interest). Whether any such deferred remediation costs are to be considered prudently incurred and reasonable, and whether the length of the amortization period requested by the grantee for recovering any such deferred remediation expenses is reasonable will be determined in the next rate case following the incurrence of such remediation costs. Seventy-five percent of any funds (or the value of any other benefits) recovered from third parties by or on behalf of the grantee which are attributable to remediation of any or all of the five manufactured gas plant sites allocated to Rate Area Three shall be credited to the deferred account. The grantee may keep 25% of any funds (or the value of other benefits) recovered from third parties.
(H) General terms and conditions. The general terms and conditions applicable to the natural gas service subject to the Municipal Natural Gas Regulation Act and provided for under this section will be kept on file with the Village Clerk. The general terms and conditions may be changed from time to time by the grantee unless contrary provision is made by an ordinance adopted in the course of a future rate proceeding.
(I) Findings of fact and conclusions of law. The findings of fact and conclusions of law, which were made a part of the official record at an area rate hearing, are hereby adopted.
(Ord. 96-2, passed 2-12-1996)