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Regulatory matters and revenues subject to refund | 9 Months Ended
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Sep. 30, 2015
Regulated Operations [Abstract] |
Regulatory matters and revenues subject to refund | Regulatory matters and revenues subject to refund On February 6, 2015, Montana-Dakota filed an application with the NDPSC for a natural gas rate increase. Montana-Dakota requested a total increase of approximately $4.3 million annually or approximately 3.4 percent above current rates. The requested increase includes the costs associated with the increased investment in facilities, including ongoing investment in new and replacement distribution facilities, depreciation and taxes associated with the increased investment as well as an increase in Montana-Dakota's operation and maintenance expenses. Montana-Dakota requested an interim increase of $4.3 million or 3.4 percent, subject to refund, which was approved by the NDPSC on March 11, 2015, effective with service rendered on or after April 7, 2015. On August 26, 2015, Montana-Dakota and the Advocacy Staff of the NDPSC filed a settlement agreement that resolved all issues of the application and reflected a natural gas rate increase of $2.6 million annually or approximately 2.0 percent above rates in effect for service rendered prior to April 7, 2015. A technical hearing was held on August 31 and September 1, 2015. On November 4, 2015, the NDPSC approved the settlement agreement. On March 31, 2015, Cascade filed an application with the OPUC for a natural gas rate increase. Cascade requested a total increase of approximately $3.6 million annually or approximately 5.1 percent above current rates. The requested increase includes the costs associated with the increased investment in facilities, including ongoing investment in new and replacement distribution facilities and the associated operation and maintenance expenses, depreciation and taxes associated with the increase in investment, as well as environmental remediation expenses. On November 2, 2015, Cascade, staff of the OPUC, the Citizens' Utility Board of Oregon and the Northwest Industrial Gas Users filed a settlement agreement that resolved all issues of the application and reflected a natural gas rate increase of approximately $600,000 annually or approximately 0.8 percent, to be effective February 1, 2016. This matter is pending before the OPUC. On April 10, 2015, Montana-Dakota submitted a required annual request to the NDPSC to update the electric rate environmental cost recovery rider to reflect actual costs incurred through February 2015 and projected costs through June 2016 related to the recovery of Montana-Dakota's share of the costs resulting from the environmental retrofit required to be installed at the Big Stone Station. The request also includes costs associated with the environmental upgrade required at the Lewis & Clark Station to comply with the EPA's MATS rule. The filing also requests a revision to the environmental cost recovery rider that will allow future recovery of ongoing reagent costs required to meet environmental standards as a monthly adjustment. A total of $8.1 million is requested to be recovered under the adjustment, consistent with revenues previously included in the rider. The NDPSC approved the requested rider to be effective with service rendered on and after July 1, 2015. On June 24, 2015, Cascade filed an expedited application with the WUTC for a natural gas rate increase. Cascade requested a total increase of approximately $3.9 million annually or approximately 1.6 percent above current rates. The requested increase includes costs associated with increased infrastructure investment and the associated operating expenses. A public meeting was held on August 27, 2015, where Cascade withdrew the filing after the WUTC indicated its intention to suspend the filing. Cascade plans to file a full application for a natural gas rate increase in the fourth quarter of 2015. On June 25, 2015, Montana-Dakota filed an application for an electric rate increase with the MTPSC. Montana-Dakota requested a total increase of approximately $11.8 million annually or approximately 21.1 percent above current rates. The increase is necessary to recover Montana-Dakota’s investments in modifications to generation facilities to comply with new EPA requirements, the addition and/or replacement of capacity and energy requirements and transmission facilities along with the additional depreciation, operation and maintenance expenses and taxes associated with the increases in investment. Montana-Dakota requested an interim increase of approximately $11.0 million annually, subject to refund, which is pending before the MTPSC. A technical hearing has been scheduled for February 9, 2016. On June 30, 2015, Montana-Dakota filed an application with the SDPUC for an electric rate increase. Montana-Dakota requested a total increase of approximately $2.7 million annually or approximately 19.2 percent above current rates. The increase is necessary to recover Montana-Dakota’s investments in modifications to generation facilities to comply with new EPA requirements, the addition and/or replacement of capacity and energy requirements and transmission facilities along with the additional depreciation, operation and maintenance expenses and taxes associated with the increases in investment. This matter is pending before the SDPUC. On June 30, 2015, Montana-Dakota filed an application for a natural gas rate increase with the SDPUC. Montana-Dakota requested a total increase of approximately $1.5 million annually or approximately 3.1 percent above current rates. The increase is necessary to recover increased operating expenses along with increased investment in facilities, including the related depreciation expense and taxes, partially offset by an increase in customers and throughput. This matter is pending before the SDPUC. On September 1, 2015, and as amended on October 5, 2015, Montana-Dakota submitted an update to its transmission formula rate under the MISO tariff including a revenue requirement for the Company’s multivalue project of $3.8 million to be effective January 1, 2016. On September 30, 2015, Great Plains filed an application for a natural gas rate increase with the MNPUC. Great Plains requested a total increase of approximately $1.6 million annually or approximately 6.4 percent above current rates. The increase is necessary to recover increased operating expenses along with increased investment in facilities, including the related depreciation expense and taxes. Great Plains requested an interim increase of $1.5 million or approximately 6.4 percent, subject to refund, to be effective January 1, 2016. This matter is pending before the MNPUC. On October 21, 2015, Montana-Dakota filed an application with the NDPSC for an update of an electric generation resource recovery rider and requested a renewable resource cost adjustment rider. Montana-Dakota requested a combined total of approximately $25.3 million with approximately $20.0 million incremental to current rates, to be effective January 1, 2016. The electric generation resource recovery rider includes recovery of Montana-Dakota's investment in the 88-MW simple-cycle natural gas turbine and associated facilities near Mandan, North Dakota, as well as 19 MW of new generation from natural gas-fired internal combustion engines and associated facilities, near Sidney, Montana, anticipated to be in service in the fourth quarter of 2015. The renewable resource cost adjustment rider is for the recovery of the Thunder Spirit Wind project, also anticipated to be in service in the fourth quarter of 2015.

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