Item 7.01 Regulation FD Disclosure
The two orders of the New Hampshire Public Utilities Commission ("NHPUC"), as
well as the Settlement Agreement, to which Item 8.01 below refers, are attached
as Exhibits 99.1, 99.2 and 99.3, respectively, to this Current Report on Form
8-K.
Item 8.01 Other Events
On May 3, 2022, the NHPUC issued Order No. 26,623 (the "Order") in Docket No. DE
21-030, the distribution base rate case filed with the NHPUC on April 2, 2021 by
Unitil Energy Systems, Inc. (the "Company"), Unitil Corporation's electric
utility subsidiary operating in New Hampshire.
The Order approves, in part, a comprehensive Settlement Agreement between the
Company, the New Hampshire Department of Energy, the Office of Consumer
Advocate, the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services, Clean Energy
New Hampshire, and ChargePoint, Inc. (the "Agreement"). In addition to
authorizing an increase to permanent distribution rates of $6.3 million,
effective June 1, 2022, the Order approves the following components of the
Agreement: (1) a proposed multi-year rate plan, (2) a revenue decoupling
mechanism, (3) proposed time-of-use rates, (4) resiliency programs to support
the Company's commitment to reliability, and (5) other rate design and tariff
changes. On May 10, 2022, the Company filed a request for clarification with the
NHPUC to clarify that the authorized revenue requirement should exclude expenses
related to the Company's proposed Arrearage Management Program ("AMP"), which
was not approved in the Order. On May 12, 2022, the Commission issued Order
No. 26,625, which clarified that because the Company will not incur the expenses
associated with the AMP, those costs should be removed from the revenue
requirement, and that the adjusted increase of $5.9 million will result in
reasonable rates. The increase in permanent rates will be reconciled back to
June 1, 2021, the effective date of temporary rates previously approved in this
docket.
This distribution base rate case reflects the Company's operating costs and
investments in utility plant for a test year ended December 31, 2020 as adjusted
for known and measurable changes. The Order provides for a return on equity of
9.2 percent and a capital structure reflecting 52% equity and 48% long-term
debt.
Item 9.01 Financial Statements and Exhibits
(d) Exhibits
Number Exhibit
99.1 New Hampshire Public Utilities Commission Order No. 26,623, dated
May 3, 2022
99.2 New Hampshire Public Utilities Commission Order No. 26,625, dated
May 12, 2022
99.3 Settlement Agreement dated February 11, 2022
104 Cover Page Interactive Data File (embedded within the Inline XBRL
document)
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