Recommendation

State of Florida		Public Service Commission Capital Circle Office Center ● 2540 Shumard Oak Boulevard Tallahassee, Florida 32399-0850 -M-E-M-O-R-A-N-D-U-M-
DATE:	September 24, 2026
TO:	Office of Commission Clerk (Teitzman)
FROM:	Division of Economics (Nguyen) Office of the General Counsel (Rauch, Crawford)
RE:	Docket No. 20260138-GU – Joint petition for approval of swing service rider for Florida City Gas and approval of rates for January 2027 through December 2027 for Florida Public Utilities Company and Florida City Gas, by Florida City Gas and Florida Public Utilities Company.
AGENDA:	10/06/26 – Regular Agenda – Tariff Suspension – Participation is at the Commission’s Discretion
COMMISSIONERS ASSIGNED:			All Commissioners
PREHEARING OFFICER:			Administrative
CRITICAL DATES:			10/31/26 (60-Day Suspension Date)
SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS:			None

Case Background

On September 1, 2026, Florida Public Utilities Company (FPUC) and Florida City Gas (FCG), collectively the Parties, filed a joint petition for approval of revised Swing Service Rider rates and associated tariffs for the period January 2027 through December 2027. The swing service rider is a cents per therm charge that is included in the monthly gas bill of transportation customers, who purchase gas from third party marketers, and therefore do not pay the Purchased Gas Adjustment (PGA) charge.

The Commission first approved FPUC’s swing service rider tariff by Order No. PSC-16-0422-TRF-GU (2016 Order).[1] The 2016 Order requires FPUC to file an annual petition to recalculate the swing service rider rates based on FPUC’s actual interstate capacity costs and the most recent 12-months’ usage data. Furthermore, the 2016 Order requires FPUC to incorporate the calculated revenues from the swing service rider as a credit to the PGA proceeding for the concurrent year. The January through December 2026 swing service rider rates were approved in Order No. PSC-2025-0421-TRF-GU.[2]

FCG currently recovers similar transportation related costs through its transportation balancing charge. In the petition, the Parties state that since Chesapeake Utilities Corporation (Chesapeake) acquired FCG, Chesapeake has undertaken several initiatives to standardize and align tariff provisions across its Florida natural gas operations. This petition proposes that FCG implements the swing service rider in place of the transportation balancing charge. The Parties propose a three-year phase-in implementation of the swing service rider to mitigate rate impact for FCG transportation customers.[3]

This is staff’s recommendation to suspend the proposed tariffs. The Commission has jurisdiction over this matter pursuant to Sections 366.04, 366.041, 366.05, and 366.06, Florida Statutes (F.S.).

Discussion of Issues

Issue 1:

Should the Commission suspend FPUC and FCG’s joint proposed Swing Service Rider rates and associated tariffs for the period January through December 2027?

Recommendation:

Yes. Staff recommends that FPUC and FCG’s joint proposed Swing Service Rider rates and associated tariffs for the period January through December 2027 be suspended to allow staff sufficient time to review the petition and gather all pertinent information in order to present the Commission with an informed recommendation on the tariff proposals. (Nguyen)

Staff Analysis:

Staff recommends that FPUC and FCG’s joint proposed Swing Service Rider rates and associated tariffs for the period January through December 2027 be suspended to allow staff sufficient time to review the petition and gather all pertinent information in order to present the Commission with an informed recommendation on the tariff proposal.

Pursuant to Section 366.06(3), F.S., the Commission may withhold consent to the operation of all or any portion of a new rate schedule, delivering to the utility requesting such a change, a reason, or written statement of good cause for doing so within 60 days. Staff believes that the reason stated above is a good cause consistent with the requirement of Section 366.06(3), F.S.

Issue 2:

Should this docket be closed?

Recommendation:

No. This docket should remain open pending the Commission decision on the proposed revised tariffs. (Rauch)

Staff Analysis:

This docket should remain open pending the Commission decision on the proposed revised tariffs.

[1] Order No. PSC-16-0422-TRF-GU, issued October 3, 2016, in Docket No. 160085-GU, In re: Joint petition for approval of swing service rider, by Florida Public Utilities Company, Florida Public Utilities Company-Indiantown Division, Florida Public Utilities Company-Fort Meade, and Florida Division of Chesapeake Utilities Corporation.

[2] Order No. PSC-2025-0421-TRF-GU, issued November 17, 2025, in Docket No. 20250107-GU, In re: Petition for approval of swing service rider rates for January through December 2026, by Florida Public Utilities Company.