MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Hope Gas has filed a request with the state Public Service Commission for a rate increase to support their Pipeline Replacement and Expansion Program (PREP).
The Morgantown-based company will invest about $115 million in the upgrades, which are expected to increase by about four percent effective Nov. 1.
Hope Gas President and CEO Morgan O’Brien said PREP has been important to ensure safety in some of the older networks they’ve acquired over the last four years. The problems and unreliability forced many people to use alternative heating sources during the winter months, he said.
“When the temperatures drop, folks get cold and find ways other than gas to heat their homes,” O’Brien said Thursday on WAJR’s “Talk of the Town.” “To be honest, it’s one of the most dangerous things to happen when people need to stay warm and they can’t rely on their furnace.”
It’s all about reliability, O’Brien said.
“People have gone decades prior to the program where every time the temperature drops, they would have to think about how they’re going to keep their families warm—thousands of people–now they can depend on us.”
The pipeline upgrades are largely completed by union labor and workers from West Virginia. The program has employed as many as 1,100 across the state, improving the safety and reliability of the systems Hope has acquired over the last four years.
“All of that pipe last year, 2025; all of that pipe in 2026, and all of the pipe going forward is being replaced by West Virginians,” O’Brien said. “These are good family-sustaining jobs.”
O’Brien said the program will replace and improve main lines, service lines, regulator stations, and plant equipment across the state. The program increases the safe operation of the system and gives the economy a boost.
“We do feel really proud about the impacts that it has,” O’Brien said. “Not only keeping the customer safe and warm, but using that to put other West Virginians to work.”
Residential customers would see an average monthly increase of $4.37, or 4.07 percent, and small commercial customers would have an increase of $11.47, or 3.33 percent. Larger commercial and industrial distribution customers would see increases in average monthly bills from $412.91 to $1,247.34.
“Grocery bills and all the other costs that hard-working families incur,” O’Brien said. “We don’t take lightly that this improvement costs capital, investment, and ultimately people see it in their bills.”
The PSC has scheduled direct testimony from commission staff and intervenors by Aug. 18, with rebuttal arguments by Sept. 2. The parties have been asked to hold an informal conference on or before Sept. 9 to debate any issues that may arise. The conference report is due by Sept. 16 in time for the Sept. 23 hearing at commission headquarters in Charleston at 9:30 a.m.