South Carolina § 58-5-455 - Rate adjustment request and implementation procedure; notice to and comments by interested parties; issuance of Initial Order; when adjustments take effect.

§ 58-5-455. Rate adjustment request and implementation procedure; notice to and comments by interested parties; issuance of Initial Order; when adjustments take effect.

The procedures contained in this section shall apply to monitoring reports related to the quarter ending March thirty-first.

(1) The utility shall file the monitoring reports with the commission and Office of Regulatory Staff on or before June fifteenth and simultaneously shall mail or electronically transmit copies to any interested parties who have requested in writing to receive them.

(2) Interested parties shall be allowed until July fifteenth to file comments in writing to the commission and the Office of Regulatory Staff concerning the monitoring report.

(3) In cases where the monitoring report indicates rate adjustments are required, or where it otherwise appears to the commission or the Office of Regulatory Staff that an adjustment in rates may be warranted under this article, the Office of Regulatory Staff shall conduct an audit of the monitoring report and specify any changes that the Office of Regulatory Staff determines to be necessary to correct errors in the report or to otherwise bring the report into compliance with this article. The Office of Regulatory Staff's audit reports shall be provided to the commission and to the utility and made available to all interested parties no later than September first.

(4) Interested parties shall be allowed until September fifteenth to file written comments with the commission and the Office of Regulatory Staff related to the Office of Regulatory Staff's audit report and shall simultaneously mail or electronically transmit copies of these comments to the utility and to all parties who previously appeared and filed comments.

(5) On or before October fifteenth the commission shall issue an initial order setting forth any changes required in the utility's request to adjust rates under this article (the "Initial Order"). In the absence of such an Initial Order, the gas rate adjustment contained in the utility's filing shall be considered to be granted as filed.

(6) Any gas rate adjustments authorized under the terms of this article shall take effect for all bills rendered on or after the first billing cycle of November of that year.

HISTORY: 2005 Act No. 16, SECTION 1, eff February 16, 2005.