3000 Spenard Road PO Box 190288 Anchorage, AK 99519-0288 www.enstarnaturalgas.com 701 West Eighth Avenue, Suite 300 Anchorage, Alaska 99501 Subject: Tariff Advice Letter 272-4 Annual Revision to GCA Dear Commissioners: The tariff filing described below is transmitted to you for filing in compliance with the Alaska Public Utilities Commission Act and Sections 3 AAC 48.200 3 AAC 48.420 of the Alaska Administrative Code: Tariff Sheet Cancels Sheet Number Revision Number Revision Schedule or Rule Number 221 39th 1 221 38th Determination of Gas Cost Adjustment Introduction and Request for Waiver ENSTAR Natural Gas Company (ENSTAR) proposes a revision to its gas cost adjustment (GCA) to be effective for the period July 1, 2015 to June 30, 2016 (2015-2016 GCA). In TA 261-4, approved by Letter Order L1400473, the Commission approved ENSTAR s request to modify its GCA provision so that revisions will take effect annually on July 1. As noted in TA 261-4 and the Letter Order, this GCA () is being filed as its first annual revision under this newly approved provision. ENSTAR proposes to revise its Gas Cost Adjustment effective with the first billing cycle of July 2015. Placing this revision into effect will decrease ENSTAR s current GCA by $.9180 per Mcf (from $7.6891 to $6.7711 per Mcf). 2 This GCA reflects ENSTAR s estimated cost of gas for the second six months of 2015 and the first six months of 2016, and is applied to all gas 1 The 38 th Revision of Sheet 221 was submitted with TA 270-4 on April 30, 2015, and is pending approval. This filing assumes that the 38 th Revision will be approved on or before the expiration of the statutory timeline, June 15, 2015. 2 An Mcf is one thousand cubic feet. An MMcf is 1,000 Mcf or 1 million cubic feet. Anchorage: 907-277-5551 Kenai Peninsula Office: 907-262-9334 Mat-Su Office: 907-376-7979
Page 2 sales customers served under ENSTAR s Tariff. 3 The proposed revision is not for a new service; will not result in the termination of an existing service or conflict with any other schedule or rate; and will not in any other way adversely affect customers, shippers, or the public. ENSTAR requests a waiver of the 3 AAC 52.506(g) requirement to provide historical supporting information with this GCA tariff filing as that information has already been submitted to the Commission. 4 As required under 3 AAC 48.270, the estimated Annual Revenues for Gas Sales Service Customers G1, G2, G3, and G4 under the current rates are $191,469,000, $21,277,000, $39,003,000, and $59,590,000, respectively, for a total of $311,339,000. Estimated Annual Revenues for Gas Sales Service Customers G1, G2, G3, and G4 under the proposed rates are $173,820,000, $19,270,000, $35,453,000, and $53,842,000, respectively, for a total of $282,385,000. Summary of Changes During the first quarter of 2015, Southcentral Alaska experienced significantly warmer temperatures than normal. The impact of this warmer weather resulted in an over-supply of system gas for the year. ENSTAR is therefore projecting volumetric decreases in Gas Withdrawn from Storage over the 2015-2016 heating season. In addition, an over-collection from the Gas Cost Balance Account from March 31, 2015 creates downward pressure on the current GCA. ENSTAR estimates that all gas sales customer categories (G1 through G4) will see an approximately 9% decrease on an annualized basis from the rates effective for the 1 st Half 2015 GCA. An average G1 customer will see a decrease of approximately $11.40 on an average monthly bill. Line (1) on Sheet 221 also contains textual changes that roll forward from the 21 st Revision of Sheet 89. 5 Hilcorp APL-4 Contract Approved Base Supply Contracts The price of gas delivered under the APL-4 (Marathon) gas sales agreement (GSA) will be the weighted average of the actual 2015 contract price and the estimated 2016 contract price. The APL-4 Contract indexes only once a year; therefore, the contract base price calculation included for the first half 2015 GCA (TA 265-4) is the same for the second half of 3 ENSTAR had 139,041 gas sales service customers as of April 30, 2015. 4 As required by Section 708g of its tariff, ENSTAR files a report on the status of the Gas Cost Balance Account 15 days after the end of each quarter which includes the historical supporting information required by 3AAC 52.506(g). 5 The 21 st Revision of Sheet 89 was submitted with TA 270-4 on April 30, 2015, and is pending approval. This filing assumes that TA 270-4 will be approved on or before the expiration of the statutory timeline, June 15, 2015.
Page 3 2015, $8.8000 per Mcf. For the first half of 2016, ENSTAR will use the daily average of April 2015 settle futures reported for July, August, and September 2015 as the proxy for the average price of Light Sweet Crude Oil Futures ( LSCOF ) to forecast the APL-4 price. The price for the first half of 2016 is computed as follows: Contract Price Multiplied by Daily Average Price per Barrel of LSCOF For the Quarter ended September 30, Year Prior to Adjustment $18.00 per Barrel $1.55 x $ 54.9776/barrel = $4.7342 $ 18.00/barrel The Base Price change is limited by the terms of the contract. The 2015 Annual Base Price is $8.800 Mcf and the calculated 2016 Annual Base Price is $4.7342 per Mcf, which is a 46.3% decrease. Since the Annual Base Price calculation resulted in a change of greater than 15%, 6 the yearly price change is limited by the collar provision of the contract to $6.11 per Mcf. A weighted average of the second half of 2015 and the first half of 2016 is then used to compute the price of gas for the 2015-2016 GCA. The estimated weighted average gas cost under APL-4 for the 2015-2016 GCA is calculated as follows: 2 nd Half 2015 1 st Half 2016 Total Volumes (Mcf) 2,372,500 2,737,300 5,109,800 Price ($/Mcf) $8.8000 $6.1100 Total Price $20,878,000 $16,724,000 $37,602,000 Weighted Cost ($/Mcf) $ 7.3588 2015-2016 Base Price $ 7.3588 Estimated Taxes and Other $ 0.0167 Cost of Gas APL-4 - July 1, 2015 - June 30, 2016 $ 7.3755 Cost of Gas APL-4 - July 1, 2015 - June 30, 2016 $ 7.3755 Estimated Purchases - July 1, 2015 - June 30, 2016 5,110,000 Mcf Estimated Cost of Gas - July 1, 2015 - June 30, 2016 $37,689,000 6 See Section 10.5 of the APL-4 GSA for complete details of limitations on computations.
Page 4 Hilcorp Contract Like the APL-4 contract, the price of gas delivered under the Hilcorp Alaska LLC (Hilcorp) contract (formerly known as the Unocal Contract) will be a weighted average of the 2015 actual price and the estimated 2016 price. This contract also indexes only once a year; therefore, the contract base price calculation included in the 2015 1 st Half GCA (TA 265-4) is the same for the second half of 2015: $3.5769 per Mcf. The price of gas to be delivered for 2016 reflects an increase in the Contract Price from 2015. The gas under the agreement is priced using the Daily Average Price of Henry Hub Natural Gas Futures traded on the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX). The Average Daily Price is calculated from the sum of the settle prices reported for a Current Trading Month contract (a contract that is in its final month of trading) during the immediately preceding thirty-one month period ended April 30 th of the year prior to the year in which the price will be in effect. 7 The Daily Average Price for the thirty-one month period ended April 30, 2015 is $3.7949. The Daily Average Price is then compared with a floor price of $2.75 per Mcf, adjusted annually for ½ of inflation. The Gross Domestic Product Implicit Price Deflator (GDPIPD) for the first quarter of 2015 was 108.6180 and the GDPIPD for the second quarter of 2001 was 83.6990. The Floor Price for 2016 is computed as follows: Floor Price = $2.75 X [(1 + GDPIPD for the Quarter ended March 31 of the Year) 2] Before the Year for which the Price is calculated GDPIPD for the Quarter ended June 30, 2001 $2.75 X [(1 + 108.6180) 2] = $2.4345 83.6990 $2.75 X [(1 + 1.29772) 2] = $2.4345 2016 Floor Price $2.4345 Since the Daily Average Price exceeds the Floor Price, the Daily Average Price of $3.7949 will be the Contract Price for 2016. The estimated Hilcorp base gas cost for the 2015-2016 GCA is calculated as follows: 2 nd Half 2015 1 st Half 2016 Total Volumes (Mcf) 4,997,000 4,106,000 9,103,000 Price ($/Mcf) $3.5769 $3.7949 Total Price $17,873,000 $15,582,000 $33,455,000 Weighted Cost ($/Mcf) $3.6751 7 As noted in TA 261-4, ENSTAR will continue its current practice of using the most recently published index as the basis for its estimation of Hilcorp gas prices in the GCA Effective Period.
Page 5 The 2015-2016 price includes applicable taxes and any reimbursement for RCA-approved tariffs paid for gas delivered through any pipelines constructed after November 2000. Hilcorp delivers some of its gas under this agreement to ENSTAR through a portion of the Kenai Beluga Pipeline, LLC (KBPL) that was constructed after November 2000 at the new Commissionapproved transportation rate of $0.2915. ENSTAR has calculated that approximately 19.3% of the gas delivered under this agreement is eligible for transportation reimbursement, resulting in an effective rate of $0.0563. As with the tax estimate, any differences between the actual and estimated transportation fees will be reflected in ENSTAR s Gas Cost Balance Account. 2015-2016 Contract Price ($/Mcf) $ 3.6751 Estimated Taxes $ 0.0000 Estimated Transportation Reimbursement $ 0.0563 Cost of Gas Hilcorp July 1, 2015 June 30, 2016 $ 3.7314 Cost of Gas Hilcorp July 1, 2015 June 30, 2016 $ 3.7314 Estimated Purchases July 1, 2015 June 30, 2016 9,103,000 Mcf Estimated Cost of Gas July 1, 2015 June 30, 2016 $33,967,000 Anchor Point Energy, LLC Contract Cook Inlet Energy, LLC (CIE) acquired the North Fork Unit assets of Anchor Point Energy LLC (APE) in 2013, and has administered the APE GSA since then. The APE GSA will end around August 30, 2015, when the required volumes are delivered. The price of the gas to be delivered for the 2 nd half of 2015 reflects an increase in the price of the gas from the first half of 2015. The Index Price for APE GSA is the Index Value within certain limits, but not less than the Floor Price for the quarter, nor more than the Ceiling Price for the quarter. The Index Value for a given quarter is the simple average of the settlement prices for NYMEX Natural Gas Futures contracts for deliveries for each Trading Day in each of the three Months in a quarter 8 (as specified in a table in the APE GSA) as reported in Platts Gas Daily. The calculated Index Value for the 2015-2016 period is $3.0770. The estimated 2015-2016 Price is $7.0940 and the estimated 2015-2016 Ceiling Price is $10.252. Since the Floor Price exceeds the calculated Index Value for the 2015-2016 period, the estimated 2015-2016 Index Price is $7.0940 per Mcf. 9 8 As noted in TA 261-4, ENSTAR will continue its current practice of using the most recently published index as the basis for its estimation of APE gas prices in the GCA Effective Period. 9 Section 3.6 of the contract provides that the Index Price for each quarter will be calculated ten business days prior to the beginning of that calendar quarter. All components of the calculation are known at this time except the GDPIPD, which is used in the calculation of the Floor Price and the Ceiling Price. The U.S. Department of Commence Bureau of Economic Analysis now revises the GDPIPD for past quarters monthly, and issues those revisions near the end of each month. Thus, the GDPIPD that will be used in the calculation of the Index Price for billing purposes will not be issued until the end of this month (May 2015).
Page 6 As noted in TA 243-4 (2013 Q4 GCA), ENSTAR has elected to take the Seller s Maximum Delivery Commitment of 7,000 Mcf per day under the APE GSA. The volumes purchased under this contract may be injected into CINGSA. The estimated gas cost for the remainder of 2015 is calculated as follows: 2015-2016 Index Value Price ($/Mcf) $ 7.0940 Estimated Taxes $ 0.0000 Cost of Gas APE GSA July 1 August 30, 2015 $ 7.0940 Cost of Gas APE GSA July 1 August 30, 2015 ($/Mcf) $ 7.0940 Estimated Purchases July 1 August 30, 2015 238,000 Mcf Estimated Cost of Gas July 1 August 30, 2015 $1,688,000 Buccaneer Alaska, LLC - BUC-1 The cost of firm gas to be delivered under the gas supply agreement with Buccaneer Alaska, LLC dated August 10, 2011 (BUC-1) 10 for 2015-2016 reflects a decrease over the 1 st Half 2015 price. The firm gas is priced quarterly using a forward-looking simple average of the three-month NYMEX National Gas Futures. The contract has a floor price of $7.011 per Mcf during the winter months of December, January, and February. For the remaining nine months of the year, the floor price is $5.885 per Mcf. A ceiling price of $10.2665 per Mcf applies yearround. The floor and ceiling are adjusted quarterly for inflation using the GDPIPD. The calculated Index Value for the 2015-2016 period is $3.0770. The estimated 2015-2016 winter Floor Price is $7.0110, and the non-winter Floor Price is $5.8850. The estimated 2015-2016 Ceiling Price is $10.2665. 11 Since the winter and non-winter Floor Price exceed the calculated Index Value for the 2015-2016 period, the estimated 2015-2016 period winter Final Price is $7.0110 and the non-winter Final Price is $5.8850. 12 Since the 2015-2016 GCA encompasses both winter and non-winter months, a weighted average of these two periods within the 2015-2016 GCA is used to calculate the estimated BUC-1 $/Mcf. The volumes purchased under this contract may be injected into CINGSA. 10 BUC 1 was assigned to AIX Energy, LLC on October 1, 2014. 11 As noted in TA 261-4, ENSTAR will continue its current practice of using the most recently published index as the basis for its estimation of Anchor Point Energy gas prices in the GCA Effective Period. 12 Section 3.6 of the contract provides that the Index Price for each quarter will be calculated ten business days prior to the beginning of that calendar quarter. All components of the calculation are known at this time except the GDPIPD, which is used in the calculation of the Floor Prices and the Ceiling Prices. The U.S. Department of Commence Bureau of Economic Analysis now revises the GDPIPD for past quarters monthly, and issues those revisions near the end of each month. Thus, the GDPIPD that will be used in the calculation of the Index Price for billing purposes will not be issued until the end of this month (May 2015).
Page 7 The estimated gas cost for the BUC-1 2015-2016 GCA is calculated as follows: Winter Price Non-Winter Total Volumes (Mcf) 455,000 1,010,300 1,465,300 Price ($/Mcf) $7.0110 $5.8850 Total Price $3,190,000 $5,945,700 $9,135,700 Weighted Cost ($/Mcf) $6.2347 Cost of Gas BUC-1 GSA July 1, 2015 June 30, 2016 ($/Mcf) $ 6.2347 Estimated Purchases July 1, 2015 June 30, 2016 1,465,000 Mcf Estimated Cost of Gas July 1, 2015 June 30, 2016 $9,134,000 Buccaneer Alaska, LLC - BUC-3 The cost of firm gas to be delivered under the gas supply agreement with Buccaneer Alaska, LLC dated May 28, 2013 (BUC-3) 13 for the 2015-2016 period reflects an increase over the 1st Half 2015 price. The agreement provides for annual price changes effective each January 1, with the price for each year set out in Article 3.1 of the contract (the price escalates approximately 4% annually). The price set out in the agreement for 2015 is $7.3500 per Mcf. The price set out in the agreement for 2016 is $7.6400 per Mcf. The volumes obtained under this contract may be injected into storage. ENSTAR calculates the total Estimated Cost of Gas for the Buccaneer Alaska BUC-3 contract for the 2015-2016 period as follows: 2 nd Half 2015 1 st Half 2016 Total Volumes (Mcf) 283,000 262,000 545,000 Price ($/Mcf) $7.3500 $7.6400 Total Price $2,080,000 $2,002,000 $4,082,000 Weighted Cost ($/Mcf) $ 7.4892 Cost of Gas BUC-3 July 1, 2015 June 30, 2016 ($/Mcf) $ 7.4892 Estimated Purchases July 1, 2015 June 30, 2016 545,000 Mcf Estimated Cost of Gas July 1, 2015 June 30, 2016 $4,082,000 13 BUC 3 was assigned to AIX Energy, LLC, on October 1, 2014.
Page 8 ConocoPhillips Contract (CPAI-5) Starting January 1, 2016, ENSTAR will purchase gas under the GSA with ConocoPhillips Alaska, LLC dated May 30, 2013 (CPAI-5). The agreement provides for annual price changes effective each January 1, with the price for each year set out in Article 7.1 of the GSA (the price escalates approximately 4% annually). The price set out in the agreement for 2016 is $7.2700 per Mcf. The volumes obtained under this contract may be injected into storage. ENSTAR calculates the total Estimated Cost of Gas for the CPAI-5 GSA for 2016 as follows: Estimated Cost of Gas CPAI-5 January 1 - June 30, 2016 ($/Mcf) $7.2700 Estimated Purchases January 1 - June 30, 2016 781,000 Mcf Estimated Cost of Gas January 1 - June 30, 2016 $5,678,000 APL-12 Hilcorp Contract The cost of firm gas to be delivered under the gas supply agreement with Hilcorp dated July 1, 2016 (APL-12) reflects an increase over the 2015 prices. The agreement provides for annual price changes effective each January 1, with the price for each year set out in Article 3.1 of the contract. The volumes purchased under this contract may be injected into CINGSA. The estimated gas cost for the 2015-2016 GCA is calculated as follows: 7/1/2015 6/30/2016 Base 2015 Swing 2015 Base 2016 Swing 2016 Total Volumes (Mcf) 4,776,000 1,279,000 6,091,000 1,631,000 13,777,000 Price ($/Mcf) $7.1300 $8.9100 $7.4200 $9.2800 Total Price $34,053,000 $11,396,000 $45,195,000 $15,136,000 $105,780,000 Weighted Cost ($/Mcf) $7.6780 Estimated Transportation Reimbursement $0.2100 14 Estimated Cost of Gas July 1, 2015 June 30, 2016 $7.8880 14 The weighted average percentage of APL-12 Contract Transport Volumes that traveled on the now consolidated KBPL pipelines in the past year was 66.4%, multiplied by the KBPL rate of $0.2915, equates to $0.1934. The percentage of LAUF and Fuel use given in kind to KBPL is calculated at 1.66%, giving a total transportation cost for APL-12 of $0.2100.
Page 9 Estimated Cost of Gas July 1, 2015 June 30, 2016 $7.8880 Estimated Total Purchases for System Supply July 1, 2015 June 30, 2016 13,777,000 Mcf Estimated Cost of Gas July 1, 2015 June 30, 2016 $108,673,000 Cook Inlet Energy, LLC ENSTAR and CIE entered into a new GSA to take effect after the APE GSA terminates. 15 Deliveries for the new CIE GSA will commence approximately August 30, 2015. The term of this new contract runs through March 31, 2016, but may be extended for an optional period of six months. The price of the gas to be delivered is $6.0300 Mcf. Subject to other provisions of this GSA, ENSTAR plans to receive and purchase 2.5 MMcf/day. The volumes purchased under this contract may be injected into CINGSA. The CIE estimated gas cost is calculated as follows: 2015-2016 Base Price $ 6.0300 Estimated Taxes and Other $ 0.0000 Cost of Gas - September 1, 2015 March 31, 2016 $ 6.0300 Cost of Gas - September 1, 2015 March 31, 2016 ($/Mcf) $ 6.0300 Estimated Purchases - September 1, 2015 March 31, 2016 485,000 Mcf Estimated Cost of Gas - September 1, 2015 March 31, 2016 $ 2,925,000 Current Average Cost of System Gas Supply ENSTAR s calculation of its 2015-2016 GCA Current Average Cost of System Base Gas Supply as shown on the proposed 39th Revision of Sheet 221 (Line (1)j)) is summarized below: Total 2015-2016 Cost of Approved Base Supply Contracts $203,836,000 Total 2015-2016 Estimated Purchases 31,504,000 Mcf 2015-2016 Current Average Cost of System Supply Gas ($/Mcf) $ 6.4702 15 The CIE GSA was submitted to the RCA for approval in TA 270-4, dated April 30, 2015, along with the 38 th Revision of Sheet 221. As noted in footnote 1, this GCA revision assumes approval of TA 270-4.
Page 10 Short-Term Supply Contracts Additional Gas Supply Contracts ENSTAR does not anticipate purchasing any gas under short-term contracts during 2015-2016. ConocoPhillips Boil-Off Gas Contract (CPAI-4) Gas delivered under the interruptible GSA with ConocoPhillips dated May 22, 2013, reflects a decreased price. The price under the contract is the Firm Fixed Quantity Price in effect in the Month when the Boil-Off Gas was delivered, under ConocoPhillips Base Gas Contract for Sale and Purchase of Natural Gas with Chugach Electric Association, Inc., dated May 12, 2009. That price is the average of certain reported prices of five selected natural gas pricing points reported in Platt s Gas Daily for the preceding quarter. Since the preceding quarter has not ended, ENSTAR uses the most recent three-month average contract price as the estimate for 2015-2016. 16 ENSTAR expects that all of this gas will be used for system supply. The estimated gas cost for 2015-2016 GCA is calculated as follows: Estimated 2015-2016 Cost of Gas Boil-Off Gas July 1, 2015 June 30, 2016 ($/Mcf) $ 2.5560 Estimated Purchases for System Supply July 1, 2015 June 30, 2016 97,200 Mcf Estimated Cost of Gas July, 1 June 30, 2016 $ 248,000 Undetermined Supply ENSTAR s current gas supply forecast for the 2015-2016 period is provided below. It demonstrates that ENSTAR expects to purchase all of the gas necessary to meet its customers 2015-2016 period demand under its existing gas commitments. Therefore, Line (2) c) of the proposed 39 th Revision of Sheet 221 (Section 2301 Determination of Gas Cost Adjustment) lists estimated purchases of zero Mcf in 2015-2016 under Undetermined Supply. 16 ENSTAR will continue its current practice of using the most recently published information as the basis for its estimation of Boil-Off gas prices in the GCA Effective Period.
Page 11 ENSTAR s Updated 2015 Gas Supply Forecast Volumes (Bcf) 17 2 nd Half 2015 1 st Half 2016 Total APL-4 2.373 2.737 5.110 Hilcorp 4.997 4.106 9.103 APE 0.238 0.000 0.238 Buccaneer I 0.684 0.781 1.465 Buccaneer III 0.284 0.261 0.545 CPAI-5 0.000 0.781 0.781 APL-12 6.055 7.722 13.777 CIE 0.257 0.228 0.485 Short Term Supply Contracts 0.000 0.000 0.000 CPAI-4 (Boil Off) 0.024 0.073 0.097 Withdrawal from Storage Total 0.100 15.012 1.422 18.111 1.522 33.123 Gas Withdrawn From Storage ENSTAR anticipates making withdrawals from storage in 2015-2016. ENSTAR values the cost of withdrawn gas using an average unit cost method which is calculated at the end of each month prior to the month the gas is withdrawn from storage, 18 plus withdrawal fees. ENSTAR estimates the Cost of Withdrawn Gas for 2015-2016 as follows: Estimated Cost of Gas Withdrawals July 1, 2015 June 30, 2016 ($/Mcf) $ 13.7933 Estimated Gas Withdrawn from Storage July 1, 2015 June 30, 2016 1,522,000 Mcf Estimated Cost of Withdrawn Gas July 1, 2015 June 30, 2016 $20,993,000 Transportation Fees Tariff Section 708e (Sheet 89), Determination of Gas Cost Adjustment, identifies the costs of the transportation of system gas supply when ENSTAR is the shipper on other pipeline systems. 19 Most of ENSTAR s gas supply contracts entered into after 2009 require ENSTAR 17 A Bcf is one billion cubic feet or 1,000,000 Mcf. 18 Cost of Gas Withdrawn from Storage calculated based on ENSTAR s tariff section 708c(1)(c). 19 In those cases where ENSTAR is required to reimburse the Seller of the Gas for transportation costs, such as the reimbursement under the Unocal (now Hilcorp) contract for gas delivered from the KKPL pipeline portion of KBPL, the reimbursed transportation costs are included in the overall estimated cost of purchased gas for that contract.
Page 12 to be responsible for the transportation of purchased gas on most, if not all, of the upstream pipelines. 20 All volumes shipped on the Kenai Beluga Pipe Line (KBPL) are under the postage stamp tariff of $0.2915 per Mcf. On March 25, 2015, APC began constructing a new 4.16 mile lateral line from the CINGSA storage facility south to interconnect with APC s existing Kenai to Anchorage pipeline near Mile 18.2 of the Kalifornsky Beach Road. This pipeline will deliver gas withdrawn from CINGSA directly to APC; therefore, withdrawn gas will not be subject to the KBPL rate. The completion and full operation of this project is expected prior to withdrawal season; consequently, all storage withdrawals have been removed from the transportation volumes subject to the KBPL rate. Total estimated volumes shipped on KBPL for 2015-2016 are 3,514,000 21 resulting in an estimated $1,024,000 in transportation charges, and a retained volume of 23,000 Mcf to compensate KBPL for the shipper s pro rata share of volumes lost and accounted for and fuel use in the operation of the pipeline. Gas Cost Balance Account ENSTAR s tariff (Section 708d) provides that the actual quarter end balance of the Gas Cost Balance Account for the quarter ending three months preceding the effective date will be used in the determination of the gas cost adjustment. On March 31, 2015, the Gas Cost Balance Account reflected an over-collection of $4,941,000. 22 Estimated Stored Gas Carrying Costs ENSTAR projects a balance in the Stored Gas account at the beginning and end of each month during the 2015-2016 period. Section 708c(5) of ENSTAR s tariff provides for recovery of Stored Gas Carrying Costs on the average of the sum of the beginning and ending balance in the Stored Gas account at the prime rate charged by the Company s lead bank. At the time of this filing, the applicable rate is 3.25%. ENSTAR estimates Stored Gas Carrying Costs of $2,070,000 based upon an estimated average of the sum of the beginning and ending monthly balances of approximately $63,638,000 in 2015-2016. Customer Notification Beginning with its first June billing cycle, ENSTAR will print a message on all of its bills for gas sales service announcing the change in gas cost. In addition, ENSTAR s July bill stuffer will discuss the change in gas cost. Finally, ENSTAR s website (www.enstarnaturalgas.com) will be updated with information concerning the change in gas cost, as well as an electronic reproduction of this tariff advice letter. 20 Depending upon the individual agreement. 21 Volumes shipped under the Hilcorp (Unocal) contract and APL-12 that provide for transportation reimbursement are not included in this calculation. 22 The supporting documentation for the activity in the Gas Cost Balance account for the quarter ended March 31, 2015 was filed on April 15, 2015 and supplemental documentation was filed on April 30, 2015.
Page 13 Pursuant to Order No. U-75-68(10) and its tariff, ENSTAR is allowed to place the new gas cost adjustment in effect immediately, pending subsequent Commission review. However, ENSTAR is filing this change now to allow the Commission and its Staff time to review the filing prior to its implementation date, July 1, 2015. The new GCA will be applied to all bills beginning with the first billing cycle in July, 2015. As noted above, ENSTAR requests a waiver of the 3 AAC 52.506(g) requirement to submit historical supporting information with this GCA tariff filing as the information has already been provided. Sincerely, ENSTAR Natural Gas Company Enclosures: 2015-2016 GCA Worksheet Hilcorp APL-4 2016 Pricing Worksheet Hilcorp Unocal 2016 Pricing Worksheet APE 2015-2016 Pricing Worksheet Buccaneer Alaska (BUC-1) 2015-2016 Pricing Worksheet CPAI-4 2015-2016 Pricing Worksheet GDPIPD April 30, 2015 39th Revision of Sheet 221 John Sims Vice President, Corporate Resources and Business Development