Direct Testimony of James Herron

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HOPE GAS, INC., dba
DOMINION HOPE
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PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION OF WEST VIRGINIA
Case No. 04-1951-G-PC
DIRECT TESTIMONY
OF
JAMES HERRON
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Q. Will you please state your name and business address?
A. My name is James Herron, and my business address is 500 Davisson Run Road,
Clarksburg, West Virginia 26301.
Q. By whom are you employed and in what capacity?
A. I am employed by Dominion Hope as Manager, Delivery Operations - Construction.
Q. Please provide the Commission with your employment history.
A. Since joining Hope in December of 1970, I have held several field and management
positions involving field operations. I spent approximately nine years in various Union
positions, sixteen years in Hope Engineering, four years as Superintendent, Customer
Service, and five years as Manager, Delivery Operations.
Q. Have you testified before this Commission previously?
A. Yes, I have appeared before this Commission in various formal complaint proceedings.
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Q. What is the purpose of your testimony in this case?
A. I will cover several topics in my testimony. First, I will discuss the process that
Dominion Hope goes through when an application is received for service in an area
where Dominion Hope has no distribution facilities. Second, I will discuss the
operational differences between the present process and the process under the Gathering
Tap Agreement. Third, I will discuss the costs that Dominion Hope incurs, both directly
and indirectly, when Dominion Hope provides service to customers in areas where
Dominion Hope has no distribution facilities. Finally, I will discuss the status of pending
applications for service in areas where Dominion Hope has no distribution facilities.
Q. Please explain how Dominion Hope handles an application for service in an area
where Dominion Hope has no distribution facilities.
A. Initially, Dominion Hope is contacted by a potential customer who requests service that
we identify as being in an area where there are no Dominion Hope distribution lines.
Either the customer identifies a third-party owned line in the area or Dominion Hope
does, and for purposes of my testimony, I will address the situation when the line is
owned by Dominion Transmission (DTI).
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Dominion Hope initiates a request for a tap on the DTI pipeline in the area of the
applicant’s home where service is requested by filling out a request form and forwarding
it to DTI. DTI then forwards the tap request to the appropriate DTI field personnel,
depending on whether the DTI line in question is a gathering line or a transmission line.
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As I understand it, DTI’s policy is not to allow new taps on transmission lines, although a
meter may be added if there is an existing tap with a meter manifold in place.
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DTI field personnel determine the gas quality, pipeline condition, availability of gas, and
any other related information relevant to service off the specific gathering pipeline. Upon
assessment of the information gathered, DTI will either approve or deny the tap request.
DTI will then notify Dominion Hope whether the tap request has been approved or
denied. If approved, the approval is conditioned upon approval by the West Virginia
Public Service Commission of Dominion Hope’s entering into a Gathering Tap
Agreement with DTI.
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Assuming Dominion Hope has received conditional approval from DTI for a tap on a
particular gathering line, Dominion Hope will contact the applicant for service and
provide him or her with a copy of Hope’s tariff pages 9 and 10 entitled, “Additional
Rules for Customers on High Pressure Main or Field Lines”, a drawing of the required
customer installation, and a copy of the Limited Service Agreement (LSA). We explain
that the new customer is responsible for the purchase and installation of the dryer, the
customer’s service line from Dominion Hope’s connection off of DTI’s facilities to the
meter and the customer’s service line from the meter to the house; odorant bottle, filters,
additional regulators and any other required safety devices. We also explain that the gas
is not of normal distribution quality and possible service interruptions could occur. The
gas has production impurities which could affect the operation of gas appliances. We
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also ask the prospective customer to execute the LSA, which Dominion Hope will also
execute. Assuming that the applicant executes the LSA and installs the required
facilities, Dominion Hope then notifies DTI of its desire to continue with the tap, subject
to approval of the GTA. Once Hope sets the meter, information about the meter
installation will be provided to DTI.
Q. Are there any operational differences between the GTA and the LSA?
A. The major difference is that the GTA spells out the procedure to be followed if there is an
interruption of service. Under the GTA, in case of interruptions, DTI will not make
repairs necessary to restore service outside DTI’s normal course of business. However, if
Dominion Hope requests that the repairs be made outside DTI’s normal course of
business, DTI will bill Dominion Hope for DTI’s cost incurred.
Q. What costs does Dominion Hope incur in responding to a request for service that
will be provided off of a third-party owned line?
A. For a new tap, Hope costs are approximately $224. For an existing tap or manifold, the
cost is approximately $203. In addition, DTI charges should be around $610 without a
backhoe to $753 with a backhoe. Travel and access can increase the overall costs billed to
Dominion Hope.
Q. How many applications are currently pending for service in an area where
Dominion Hope does not have distribution facilities but DTI does?
A. Seventy.
Q. Have these applications for service been approved by Dominion Hope?
A. Yes.
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Q. Has DTI agreed to tap its facilities to allow Dominion Hope to provide utility
service?
A. DTI has agreed to tap only their pipelines classified as gathering contingent upon this
Commission’s approving the GTA. DTI will provide service from an existing tap or
manifold on a pipeline classified as transmission. However, no new taps will be made on
any transmission pipeline.
Q. Are there any conditions that must be met before DTI will actually complete the
tap?
A. Yes. In each application for service and upon approval, DTI and Dominion Hope request
that the customer complete the necessary service line and dryer installation before the tap
is made. This is no different from the procedure under the current LSA. Also, it is
important to note that there are some conditions in which a tap won’t be made, such as
when the request is for service from a line scheduled for abandonment or relocation or a
line to a plugged well.
Q. Does this complete your direct testimony?
A. Yes, it does.
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