fbpx
HomeRates & ServicesRates & Tariffs

Rates & Tariffs

Cascade Home » Rates & Services » Rates & Tariffs

Billing Terms and Definitions

Average Cost of Gas

Costs of the natural gas commodity and interstate pipeline transportation for delivery to Cascade Natural Gas’ distribution system.

Basic Service Charge

This charge covers a portion of the costs associated with meter reading and billing. These costs do not vary with the amount of natural gas used.

BTU Factor

British Thermal Unit is a measure of the volume of heat content. The BTU factor is an adjustment factor based on the actual heat content of the gas.

CCF

Hundreds of cubic feet, a measure of the volume of natural gas used, as recorded by your gas meter.

City Tax

Municipalities may charge a fee (City Tax) for the services we provide in their area.  By law, we must pass these charges through to you. The fee only applies if you live in an area with an added tax.

Delivery Charge Per Therm

Portion of the rates designed to compensate Cascade Natural Gas for the cost to deliver natural gas from the interstate supply pipeline to your meter.

Energy Factor

The heating quality of natural gas can vary. To compensate for this, the volume used is multiplied by the energy factor to show the actual heating value of the gas supplied by Cascade Natural Gas. The company bills the customer for units of heat, not for volumes of gas.

Pressure Factor

A factor used to compensate for higher-than-normal delivery pressures. Standard delivery pressure is 0.25 pounds per square inch (PSI).

Rates

The rates reflected on the bill have been approved by the Public Utility Commission in the state where service is provided. Copies of current rate schedules are available at www.cngc.com. A copy of a current, proposed, most recently canceled or superseded tariff page is available by contacting customer service either by phone or in writing.

Therms

Actual heating value of the gas delivered to the customer. One therm equals 100,000 British Thermal Units (BTU). Number of therms used is determined by multiplying the volume of natural gas used by the Energy Factor and Pressure Factor.

Unprotected EDIT

Customer refund for excess taxes collected on other “non-plant” items.  They are “unprotected” and could be refunded immediately; however, the Public Utility Commission of Oregon (OPUC) agreed to a refund period of 5 years.  These refunds will benefit customers until approximately May 31, 2024.

Public Purpose Fund

Funding mechanism for public purpose activities administered through one or more independent entities.  Public purpose activities include, but may not be limited to, energy efficiency programs, market transformation and low-income conservation and bill assistance programs.

Average Cost of Gas

Costs of the natural gas commodity and interstate pipeline transportation for delivery to Cascade Natural Gas’ distribution system.

Basic Service Charge

This charge covers a portion of the costs associated with meter reading and billing. These costs do not vary with the amount of natural gas used.

BTU Factor

British Thermal Unit is a measure of the volume of heat content. The BTU factor is an adjustment factor based on the actual heat content of the gas.

CCF

Hundreds of cubic feet, a measure of the volume of natural gas used, as recorded by your gas meter.

City Tax

Municipalities may charge a fee (City Tax) for the services we provide in their area.  By law, we must pass these charges through to you. The fee only applies if you live in an area with an added tax.

Delivery Charge Per Therm

Portion of the rates designed to compensate Cascade Natural Gas for the cost to deliver natural gas from the interstate supply pipeline to your meter.

Energy Factor

The heating quality of natural gas can vary. To compensate for this, the volume used is multiplied by the energy factor to show the actual heating value of the gas supplied by Cascade Natural Gas. The company bills the customer for units of heat, not for volumes of gas.

Pressure Factor

A factor used to compensate for higher-than-normal delivery pressures. Standard delivery pressure is 0.25 pounds per square inch (PSI).

Rates

The rates reflected on the bill have been approved by the Public Utility Commission in the state where service is provided. Copies of current rate schedules are available at www.cngc.com. A copy of a current, proposed, most recently canceled or superseded tariff page is available by contacting customer service either by phone or in writing.

Therms

Actual heating value of the gas delivered to the customer. One therm equals 100,000 British Thermal Units (BTU). Number of therms used is determined by multiplying the volume of natural gas used by the Energy Factor and Pressure Factor.

Energy Assistance Fund

Collects funding for Cascade’s Washington Energy Assistance Fund (WEAF) Program which assists qualified low-income customers who need help paying their utility bills.

Decoupling Mechanism

Amortizes the difference between authorized revenues and actual revenues.  Cascade defers the difference between billed revenue and the authorized margin per customer, which is a different amount per customer class, per month.  Billed and authorized revenue differ for a number of reasons including the installation of conservation measures, weather variations, and different gas usage patterns.  The deferred balance is then amortized through this Schedule 594 adjustment.

Deferred Gas Cost

Passes on rate adjustments designed to reflect the cost of gas in the company’s gas supply portfolio.  As the cost of gas, pipeline, storage, and reservation costs change from year to year, the company either collects or refunds these differences.

Conservation

Passes on changes in the amount of conservation program expenditures affecting customer rates.

Pipeline Replacement

Collects funds that allow the company to replace pipe that present an elevated risk of failure.

Protected EDIT

Customer refund for excess taxes collected on utility plant and assets. These must be returned to customers over a long period of time determined by the regulatory lives of the plant and assets.  They are “protected” because they will not be refunded faster than federal regulations allow.

Unprotected EDIT

Customer refund for excess taxes collected on other “non-plant” items.  They are “unprotected” and could be refunded immediately; however, the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission (WUTC) agreed to a refund period of 10 years.  These refunds will benefit customers until approximately October 31, 2028.

FIT Credit

Customer refund for excess taxes collected from January 1st to July 31st, 2018.  Cascade continued to collect some taxes at the 35% rate until new rates went into effect on August 1st.  Therefore, there was a partial year of excess taxes that must now be refunded to customers.  This will be a much faster refund which will occur over approximately a 15-month period.

Rates and Tariffs

For the convenience of our customers, Cascade’s tariffs are made available here. The tariffs posted here are approved by the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission (WUTC) and the Oregon Public Utility Commission (OPUC) and are the effective rates, rules and regulations of this company.

Cascade seeks to keep this information accurate and current, however, the official tariffs actually in effect, are on file with the respective regulatory Commission. Copies of the official tariffs are also available in each of Cascade’s business offices.

i - Cover Sheet33 - Oregon Low-Income Energy Conservation Program
ii - Index34 - Energy Efficiency Services Programs
1 - General35 - Temporary COVID-19 Residential Bill Assistance Program
2 - Definitions36 - Energy Discount Program
3 - Establishing Service37 - Energy Discount Program Cost Recovery
4 - Customer Deposits and Other Security100 - Adjustment for Municipal Exactions
5 - Discontinuation of Service101 - General Residential Service Rate
6 - Billing104 - General Commercial Service Rate
7 - Meters105 - General Industrial Service Rate
8- Meter Testing111 - Large Volume General Service Rate
9 - Service Line Installations163 - General Distribution System Interruptible Transportation Service
10 - Main Installations170 - Interruptible Service
11 - House Piping177 - Purchase Gas Cost Adjustment Provision
12 - Responsibility for Maintenance of Service Connections191 - Temporary Gas Cost Rate Adjustment
14 - Company Responsibility192 - Intervenor Funding Adjustment
15 - Customer Responsibility193 - Conservation Alliance Plan Adjustment
16 - Force Majuere196 - UM 903 Oregon Earnings Sharing
17 - Order of Priority for Gas Service197 - Environment Remediation Cost Adjustment
18 - Limitation of Firm Service198 - Unprotected Excess Deferred Income Tax (Edit) Rate Adjustment Schedule
19 - Conservation Alliance Plan Mechanism199 - Interim Period Deferred Federal Income Tax Benefits Rate Adjustment Schedule
31 - Public Purpose Charge200 - Various Miscellaneous Charges
32 - Oregon Low-Income Assistance Program201 - Special Contracts
800 - Biomethane Receipt Services

Summary of Rate Schedules

0 - Title Page301 - Low Income Weatherization Incentive Program
Index303 - Washington Energy Assistance Fund (WEAF) Program
Legend of Symbols304 - Temporary COVID-19 Residential Bill Assistance Program
1 - General Rule500 - Tax Addition Schedule
2 - Definitions Rule503 - Residential Service Rate
3 - Establishing Service504 - General Commercial Service Rate
4 - Customer Deposits and Other Security505 - General Industrial Service Rate
5 - Disconnection and Reconnection of Service511 - Large Volume General Service Rate
6 - Billings and Payments570 - Interruptible Service Schedule
7 - Meters Rule581 - Protected-Plus Excess Deferred Income Tax (edit) Reversals
8 - Extension of Distribution Facilities Rule582 - Unprotected Excess Deferred Income Tax (edit) Reversals
10 - Customer-owned Facilities583 - Temporary Federal Income Tax Rate Credit Rate Adjustment Schedule
13 - Company Responsibility590 - Temporary Gas Cost Amortization
14 - Customer Responsibility593 - Washington Energy Assistance Fund (WEAF) Program Cost Recovery
15 - Force Majeure Rule594 - Decoupling Mechanism Adjustment
17 - Order of Priority for Gas Service595 - Temporary Technical Adjustment Schedule
18 - Limitation of Service Rule596 - Conservation Program Adjustment
19 - Purchase Gas Cost Rule597 - Cost Recovery Mechanism
20 - Unbundled Distribution System Transportation Service Rules663 - Distribution System Transportation Service Schedule
21 - Decoupling Mechanism
200 - Various Miscellaneous Charges
300 - Residential Conservation Incentive Program

State Agencies

Pending Tariff Changes

Washington Pending Tariff Changes
Oregon Pending Tariff Changes

 

Integrated Resource Plan

Cascade Natural Gas files an integrated resource plan (IRP) that outlines its plan to meet future demand. For additional details:

For Washington, click here.
For Oregon, click here.

Conservation Plans and Reports

Conservation Advisory Group Meetings

en English
zh-CN Chinese (Simplified)en Englishfr Frenchhmn Hmongid Indonesianja Japaneseko Koreanro Romanianru Russianso Somalies Spanishsw Swahiliuk Ukrainianvi Vietnamese