Rural expansion work to focus on Jensen, Roosevelt as company adjusts enrollment assumptions

Jordan Parks of the company's regulatory team updated the commission on the rural-expansion program. Parks said earlier community estimates sometimes relied on broad structure counts and that the company now expects a gap between "potential" and "installed" customer counts during the multi-year sign-up window. Green River and Eureka were cited as examples where early estimates exceeded actual sign-ups.

Parks said the company will pursue Jensen and Roosevelt in separate applications, begin outreach and open houses within the coming month, and intends to submit regulatory approval requests in third quarter (around August) for any projects that move forward. He described the project timeline: two years for sign-ups for service lines, plus up to two years for meter set and startup in some cases, meaning a five-year window from initial construction to full participation for some communities.

On program finance, Parks said the recent general rate case increased D&G revenue to just under $64 million and set program spending caps: a 2% cap on D&G revenue in any three-year period and an aggregate 5% program cap that equated, per Parks, to about $268 million of allowed program investment (with roughly $107 million allowable in any three-year window). Parks said the company will not submit a new rural-expansion tracker until spending exceeds the amount included in the general rate case forecast.

Why it matters: the rural-expansion program is a targeted growth and equity initiative that affects customers in remote communities and ties directly to the company's capital program and regulatory spending caps. Commissioners asked for more discussion with division staff to align expectations on proposed communities and enrollment assumptions.