Columbia Gas of Virginia customers face an interim increase of $10.81 a month, about 11.11%, beginning Oct. 12. The step applies to the average residential bill and is the first half of a two-part request now before the Virginia State Corporation Commission. Cardinal News reported the details on Sept. 25.
An 11.11% step on an average bill of about $97
The figures come from Cardinal News reporting by Matt Busse and from Columbia Gas’s own regulatory page, and they concern an average residential customer using 5.1 dekatherms of gas a month. The State Corporation Commission’s website was not available for automated review, so the docket itself was not read; the source names it as PUR-2026-00014.
The percentage checks against the company’s numbers. When the request was filed in May, Cardinal News reported the average residential bill at $97.28 a month. Eleven percent of $97.28 is about $10.81, which matches the interim figure. Added to the current bill, that step brings the average to roughly $108.09 a month.
Over a full year, $10.81 a month comes to $129.72 (12 times $10.81). The figure is defined for the 5.1-dekatherm customer, so a household that burns more or less gas than that average would see a different dollar change, and a winter with heavier heating use would push the actual bill above the average.
Put in yearly terms, the two steps together would add $166.08 a year (12 times $13.84) once both are in effect. The May 2025 case, which added about $6 a month, added roughly $72 a year (12 times $6) by the same arithmetic, so the current request is a larger step than the last.
Interim rates come with a refund clause
Interim rates are a temporary arrangement while regulators review the full request. Columbia Gas states on its regulatory information page that interim rates “will not go into effect until the fourth quarter of 2026 and will be subject to refund based on the SCC’s final order.” Cardinal News adds that if the Commission approves rates lower than the interim ones, the difference is to be refunded with interest.
The company’s filing lists Oct. 4 as the date for the first permanent phase, while the Sept. 25 report puts the interim start at Oct. 12. The Oct. 12 date is the one that applies to bills in the near term. The Commission’s review of the filing, the company says, could take an additional year.
The second step and the $78.9 million behind both
The request has two parts. The first, $10.81 a month, is the interim step. The second, an added $3.03 a month (about 3.16%), is proposed for October 2027. Added together, the two steps are $13.84 a month, and the average bill would then reach about $111.12, up from $97.28.
Columbia Gas asked for $64.3 million in added revenue for the first phase and a further $14.6 million for the second, which totals the $78.9 million reported. Cardinal News said the money would go toward new customer communication software, advanced meter technology and pipeline safety and reliability work. Cardinal News quoted the company’s stated priority: “Columbia Gas’ number one priority is safely operating and maintaining our pipeline system, meeting or exceeding all federal and state requirements.”
What the Commission has done with similar requests
The last Columbia Gas rate case gives a reference point. In May 2025 the Commission approved an increase of about $6 a month for the average customer after the company had asked for about $9. That history does not predict the outcome of this case, but it shows why the interim rate carries a refund provision: the final figure can land below the request. A household budgeting for this winter can treat the interim amount as the working number, and treat any refund as a separate, later adjustment that depends on the final order.
What the interim step leaves unsettled
An interim rate is not a ruling on the request. The Commission has not yet decided whether the full $78.9 million is justified, and the company’s own page says the review could take another year after the filing. Until then, the Oct. 12 charge stands as a temporary rate, and any difference between it and the final rate is settled through the refund mechanism described above.
Who is covered and the dates that follow
Columbia Gas of Virginia serves about 293,000 customers across 98 Virginia cities, towns and counties, spanning residential, commercial and industrial accounts. Public comments on the case are due Dec. 8, and a public hearing is set for Dec. 15. Cardinal News noted that the Commission’s website carries a link for submitting comments.
The sequence for a household is simple. The interim increase starts Oct. 12, comments close Dec. 8, the hearing follows on Dec. 15, and a final order determines whether any refund is owed. According to Cardinal News, the case number to look for on the Commission’s site is PUR-2026-00014.
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This article was written with AI assistance from Cardinal News reporting and Columbia Gas’s regulatory page.
