Title
Incorporated County of Los Alamos Code Ordinance No. 02-340; An Ordinance Amending Chapter 40, Article III, Sections 40-151, and 40-152 of the Code of the Incorporated County of Los Alamos Pertaining to Gas Service Rates.
Recommended Action
I introduce, without prejudice, Incorporated County of Los Alamos Code Ordinance No. 02-340; An Ordinance Amending Chapter 40, Article III, Sections 40-151, and 40-152 of the Code of the Incorporated County of Los Alamos Pertaining to Gas Service Rates.
Utilities Manager's Recommendation
The Utilities Manager recommends that the Board not introduce Ordinance 02-340 and instead consider introducing Ordinance 02-341 that offers a flat rate per Therm which fairly allocates the increased commodity costs across all customer classes. The alternative Ordinance 02-340 modifies the variable rate by setting a floor of $0.11/ Therm and removes the $0.99/Therm cap, however, this rate design does not evenly allocate costs across all customer classes.
Body
In August of 2022, Ordinance No. 02-329 was approved, amending fixed gas rates and meter service charges by 5%, which was discussed in the FY2023 budget cycle. At that time no changes to the variable rate were proposed. The variable cost of gas is estimated monthly based on the San Juan Index price. This price is measured in metric million British thermal units (MMBTU) which converts to approximately 10 therms. Before December 2022, the highest price per million metric British thermal unit (MMBTU) was $8.75 in September 2022. December prices closed at $10.29 per MMBTU and January closed at $32.97.
Budgets for FY2023 costs of gas were based on estimates provided by Conoco Phillips, and was set at $5.39 per MMBTU, or approximately $4.3 million for the year. As of today, the average San Juan Index price for FY2023 is $11.08, with the months of December and January estimated to cost $7.3 million alone. Budget revision 2023-26 is also being presented to BPU and cou...
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