SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20005
FORM 8-K
CURRENT REPORT
Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of
The Securities Exchange Act of 1934
Date of Report - January 6, 2000
(Date of earliest event reported)
Questar Gas Company
(Exact name of registrant as specified in charter)
STATE OF UTAH 1-935 87-0407509
(State or other juris- (Commission (I.R.S. Employer
diction of incorporation File No.) Identification No.)
or organization)
180 East 100 South Street, P.O. Box 45360, Salt Lake City, Utah 84145-0360
(Address of principal executive offices)
Registrant's telephone number, including area code (801) 324-5555
<PAGE>
FORM 8-K
CURRENT REPORT
Item 5. Other Events.
The Public Service Commission of Utah (the PSCU) has approved a
request filed by Questar Gas Company (Questar Gas or the Company) for
interim rate relief effective January 1, 2000. The interim relief,
which will be collected subject to refund, amounts to $7.065 million.
The request for interim rate relief was included as part of the
general rate case application that the Company filed on December 17,
1999, requesting a total rate increase of $22.5 million and a return
on equity of 12 percent. Under Utah law, the PSCU has 240 days from
the filing date in which to consider Questar Gas's general rate case
application and issue an order concerning it.
The interim relief was granted after public hearings and was
supported by the Division of Public Utilities, a state agency. The
PSCU has not taken any action on the Company's request for rehearing
of its earlier decision to deny pass-through coverage for the costs
incurred to deal with a Btu adjustment problem by processing gas
volumes through a CO2 plant. See the Company's Current Report on Form
8-K dated December 7, 1999.
Item 7. Financial Statements and Exhibits.
(c) Exhibits
Exhibit No. Exhibit
99.1 Press release issued on January 7, 2000.
SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of
1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its
behalf by the undersigned thereunto duly authorized.
QUESTAR GAS COMPANY
(Registrant)
January 7, 2000 By /s/D. N. Rose
Date D. N. Rose
President and Chief
Executive Officer
News Release
Questar Corporation
180 East 100 South
P.O Box 45433
Salt Lake City, UT 84145-0433
Jan. 7, 2000
NYSE: STR
Contact: Darren Shepherd
Office: 801-324-5167
Questar Gas Granted Interim Rate Relief
SALT LAKE CITY The Utah Public Service Commission (PSC) has approved
a request by Questar Gas Co., an affiliate of Questar Corp.
(NYSE:STR), for $7.065 million in immediate interim rate relief. The
interim rates were ordered effective Jan. 1, 2000.
The company requested interim cost recovery in conjunction with a
$22.2 million general rate increase request filed with the commission
on Dec. 17, 1999.
In requesting interim rate relief, Questar Gas cited the
significant financial effect of operating losses resulting from new
gas processing required for safety-related removal of excess carbon
dioxide from the gas stream. Questar Gas' request to recover the gas
processing costs in a recent gas-cost pass-through filing was denied
by the commission in December. That decision hastened Questar Gas'
filing of the general rate case and request for interim rate relief.
The Utah Division of Public Utilities supported Questar Gas'
request for interim relief, noting that "a conservative interim
increase is needed to maintain a minimum of financial health for the
company" pending review of the general rate increase request. The
division noted that the interim increase will help Questar Gas avoid
"poor financial health" which "could ultimately adversely affect
ratepayers through deteriorated service and higher costs." The
division also cited Questar Gas' large capital requirements due to its
rapid customer growth.
Under the commission's order, the higher rates are subject to
refund pending the PSC's decision on the full general rate-increase
request. The commission's order means the annual bill for the typical
residential customer using 115 decatherms per year will increase from
$601 to $611, a 1.7% increase.
"The commission's order comes at a critical time because of the
continuing impact of the CO2 removal costs," said Nick Rose, Questar
Gas president and CEO. "While the division did not directly address
CO2 processing, we appreciate its recognition that higher rates are
necessary to maintain Questar Gas' financial health and to attract
investment capital necessary to expand our system and provide the
level of service our customers have come to expect."
The company still has before the PSC a request for rehearing of
the PSC's earlier decision to deny CO2 processing coverage in the
company's semiannual pass-through filing. "While the commission's
decision today does mitigate the costs of the CO2 removal going
forward, it does not address recovery of those costs already incurred
in 1999 which the previous decision required be removed from the
pass-through balancing account," said Rose.
Questar Gas Company is a wholly owned subsidiary of Questar Corp.
(NYSE:STR). Questar Corp. is a Salt Lake City-based integrated energy
resources and services company with $2.2 billion in assets.
VISIT QUESTAR'S INTERNET SITE AT: www.questar.com
