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V U Hand Delivery Mountaineer Gas Company October 13,2017 VU HAND DELIVERY Ms. Ingrid Ferrell Executive Secretary Public Service Commission of West Virginia 201 Brooks Street Charleston, WV 25301 MOUNTAINEER GAS COMPANY Infrastructure Replacement and Expansion Program filing for 20 18. Dear Ms. Ferrell: Please find enclosed for filing on behalf of the West Virginia Energy Users Group an original and twelve (1 2) copies of the "Direct Testimony and Exhibits of Richard A. Baudino" being filed in the above-referenced case. Please contact me if you have any questions concerning this filing. Sincerely, Lara R. Brandfass (W State Bar #12962) Susan J. Riggs (WV State Bar #5246 lbrandfass@,spilmanlaw.com sr&gs@,spiImanlaw.com Barry A. Naum (WV State Bar #12791) Derrick Price Williamson bnaurn@,spilmanlaw.com dwilliarnson@,spilmanlaw.com LRB:sds: 10245701 Enclosures C: Certificate of Service Spilman Thomas & Battle. PLLC 300 Kariawha Boulevard, East 1 PO Box 273 ~ Charleston. WV 25321 -0273 1 West Virginia 1 North Carolina j Pennsylvania 1 Virginia 1 spilmanlaw.com CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE I, Susan J. Riggs, counsel to the West Virginia Energy Users Group, do hereby certify that on this 13'h day of October, 2017, a copy of the foregoing "Direct Testimony and Exhibits of Richard A. Baudino I' was served upon the parties and/or counsel of record in this proceeding as follows: VIA HAND DELIVERY Linda Bouvette, Esquire Staff Attorney Public Service Commission of West Virginia 201 Brooks Street Charleston, WV 25301 Counsel for Commission Staff VIA U.S. MAIL Christopher L. Callas, Esquire Stephen N. Chambers, Esquire Nicklaus A. Presley, Esquire Jackson Kelly PLLC P.O. Box 553 Charleston, WV 25322-0553 Counsel for Mountaineer Gas Company Tom White, Esquire Consumer Advocate Division 700 Union Building 723 Kanawha Boulevard, East Charleston, WV 2530 1 Counsel for Consumer Advocate Division PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION OF WEST VIRGINIA CHARLESTON CASE NO. 17-1066-G-390P MOUNTAINEER GAS COMPANY Infrastructure Replacement and Expansion Program Filing for 2018. DIRECT TESTIMONY OF RICHARD A. BAUDINO 1 Q. Please state your name and business address. 2 A. My name is Richard A. Baudino. My business address is J. Kennedy and Associates, Inc. 3 ("Kennedy and Associates"), 570 Colonial Park Drive, Suite 305, Roswell, Georgia 4 3 0075. 5 6 Q. What is your occupation and by whom are you employed? 7 A. I am a consultant to J. Kennedy and Associates. 8 9 Q. Please describe your education and professional experience. 10 A. I received my Master of Arts degree with a major in Economics and a minor in Statistics 11 from New Mexico State University in 1982. I also received my Bachelor of Arts Degree 12 with majors in Economics and English from New Mexico State in 1979. I began my 13 professional career with the New Mexico Public Service Commission Staff in October 14 1982 and was employed there as a Utility Economist. During my employment with the 15 Staff, my responsibilities included the analysis of a broad range of issues in the 16 ratemaking field. Areas in which I testified included cost of service, rate of return, rate J. Kennedy and Associates, Inc. Richard A. Baudino Page 2 1 design, revenue requirements, analysis of sale/leasebacks of generating plants, utility 2 finance issues, and generating plant phase-ins. 3 4 In October 1989, I joined the utility consulting firm of Kennedy and Associates as a 5 Senior Consultant where my duties and responsibilities covered substantially the same 6 areas as those during my tenure with the New Mexico Public Service Commission Staff. 7 I became Manager in July 1992 and was named Director of Consulting in January 1995. 8 Currently, I am a consultant with Kennedy and Associates. 9 10 Exhibit-(RAB- 1) summarizes my expert testimony experience. 11 12 Q. On whose behalf are you testifying? 13 A. I am testifying on behalf of the West Virginia Energy Users Group ("WVEUG"). 14 15 Q. What is the purpose of your Direct Testimony? 16 A. The purpose of my Direct Testimony is to recommend that the Public Service 17 Commission of West Virginia (''PSC'' or "Commission") adopt certain consumer 18 protections as part of its decision regarding approval of Mountaineer Gas Company's 19 ("Mountaineer" or "Company") proposed Infrastructure Replacement and Expansion 20 Program (lIIREP"). J. Kennedy and Associates, Inc. Richard A. Baudino Page 3 I Q. What are the consumer protections that you recommend be adopted by the 2 Commission in this proceeding? 3 A. I recommend that the following protections be adopted by the Commission for 4 implementation in the Company's IREP: 1. The yearly cap on IREP-related rate increases from current authorized tariff rates should be limited to 3.75% of the Company's total revenues authorized in the last 8 base rate case. 9 I0 2. The cumulative cap on customer IREP-related rate increases over currently 11 authorized tariff rates should be limited to 7.5% of the Company's total revenues 12 authorized in the last base rate case. 13 14 3. The Company should not be permitted to implement an IREP Rate Component 15 after an IREP investment base reset following a base rate case order or, if an 16 annual IREP Rate Component is already in place, to increase the existing IREP 17 Rate Component with a subsequent calendar year's incremental projected 18 investment in IREP Facilities, if the Company's achieved return on average equity 19 investment, as reflected in its audited financial statements for the preceding 20 calendar year prepared using generally accepted accounting principles and 21 measured on a calendar year basis, exceeds the authorized return on common 22 equity set in the Company's most recent base rate case. If one of these situations 23 occurs, then the Company could still make its IREP filing for purposes of J. Kennedy and Associates, Inc. Richard A. Baudino Page 4 1 maintaining the existing IREP Rate Component (if any) and addressing any 2 needed reconciliations of costs and revenues from previous years. 3 4 Q* Did the Commission adopt these consumer protections in another proceeding? 5 A. Yes. In its Order in Case No. 16-0550-W-DSIC involving West-Virginia American 6 Water Company ("WVA WC"), the Cornmission approved a Joint Stipulation and 7 Agreement for Settlement ("Settlement") that enabled WVAWC to implement a 8 Distribution System Improvement Charge (''DSIC'') as an infrastructure replacement cost 9 recovery mechanism similar to those authorized for natural gas utilities under Senate Bill 10 390 ("S.B. 390"). 'WV'EUG participated in that proceeding and joined the settlement and 11 believes that those customer protections are important components and principles of not 12 only the DSIC but of any of infrastructure replacement charges. The Settlement in the 13 WVAWC case is attached to my Direct Testimony as Exhibit-(RAB-2). The 14 consumer protections that were approved by the Commission begin in paragraph 9(g) on 15 page 6 and continue through page 8. 16 17 Q. Please provide the basis for your recommendation of yearly and cumulative rate 18 caps associated with the IREP. 19 A. In order to mitigate future rate impacts on West Virginia ratepayers from Mountaineer's 20 IREP, I recommend that the yearly increase to the Company's tariff rates be limited to 21 3.75% of the Company's authorized revenues and that the total cumulative increase be 22 limited to 7.5% of those authorized revenues. Given the expedited cost recovery 23 treatment afforded investments that flow through Mountaineer's IREP, it is a just and J. Kennedy and Associates, Inc. Richard A. Baudino Page 5 1 reasonable quid pro quo that customers receive some form of protection from excessive 2 future rate increases that may flow through Mountaineer's REP. 3 4 Furthermore, I am concerned that without such caps, the Company could continue to 5 increase IREP investments to the degree that a base rate case filing becomes unnecessary 6 from the Company's perspective, or at least would be delayed indefinitely. I believe that 7 traditional base rate cases are important components of the regulatory process by 8 reconciling all of a utility's costs and revenues, moving surcharge investments into rate 9 base, and also providing additional assurances of both reasonable returns on equity 10 ("ROE") and just and reasonable allocation of costs among customers. For that reason, i 11 believe that caps on IREP charges may provide an additional incentive for the Company 12 to continue to seek base rate adjustments when necessary without placing any undue 13 burdens on the Company in the meantime. 14 15 Q. Why should an earnings test be approved by the Commission? 16 A. One of the purposes of infrastructure recovery plans is to help prevent significant 17 earnings erosion to the utility company from ongoing investments in non-revenue 18 producing infrastructure replacement between rate cases. If Mountaineer's actual earned 19 ROE is equal to or greater than its last authorized return on equity before the 20 implementation of an IREP-related revenue increase, then there is no good reason for the 21 Company to increase its charges to West Virginia ratepayers in order to shore up its 22 earnings due to infrastructure replacement investments. Such rate increases would 23 actually cause Mountaineer to earn an excessive ROE. J. Kennedy and Associates, Inc. Richard A. Baudino Page 6 1 Q. The consumer protections you recommend were approved for a water utility 2 (WVAWC). Are these protections appropriate for a gas distribution utility like 3 Mountaineer? 4 A. Yes, most definitely. The fundamental reasons for programs like Mountaineer's IREP 5 and WVAWC's DSIC are basically the same.
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